Teacher's Pet
by RegalChromaggia69
Summary: Emma Swan is starting her senior year this year and she's got a pretty easy schedule. But as her friends tell her about the Creative Writing teacher and how no one has passed her class with an A, what will she do? And who exactly is this 'bitch' as they claim her to be? Swan Queen-Student/Teacher AU. M for language and eventual smut.
1. First Day

**A/N: I got this idea from Swan Queen AU week and after reading a few of the student/teacher fics, I decided to try it out myself. I hadn't gotten the time to review it, so please excuse any mistakes. Please R & R and tell me what you think!**

**Warning: Rated M for language and future chapters**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.**

* * *

It was that day of the year again. That day that marked the end of summer vacation as the school bells rang once again after three months of hibernation. It had been dreadfully hot this summer, leaving little days to be enjoyed. This day was no exception even though, as Emma Swan would have thought it to be, the end of summer. Really, though, summer wouldn't end for another month.

But still, this day would be the end of the late nights playing video games with her friend, Graham. The two wanted to spend as much time with each other over the summer, since he would be moving to Boston for college. It would also end the nights out with Ruby, and sometimes Belle, as they went about town, sneaking into various parties held by some of the recently graduated seniors. Her friend Ruby, being one of them, threw her own little party for herself and Graham.

The four friends had decided to keep cool and stay indoors for a majority of the summer. Hence was why they mostly engaged in said topics throughout their break.

Although, now, all of that was over. Emma couldn't sleep in until noon every day. Instead, she had to wake up in the early morning, a time she sometimes went to bed after playing a marathon of her favorite game with her buddies. The morning hour of seven o'clock caused the blonde teen to groan as she hit the dismiss button on her phone.

School. Emma took the liberty to dub Storybrooke High as Hell. Most of the students there were too chipper, nice, snobby, or rude. They were opposite Emma, who liked it quiet so she could read and do work in peace. She steered clear of them, usually, but in her classes, there was always at least one that would have to be sat next to her, and, that would ultimately ruin her entire year. Hopefully she'd be able to pick her seat in the upcoming classes. It was her senior year, after all. Perhaps they would oblige to her wishes. But, then again, teachers never really do.

Grudgingly, Emma dragged herself out of bed and picked out an outfit consisting of her usual black attire of jeans, a t-shirt, and an overlarge hoodie. It may have looked insane that she would wear such attire outside in this sweltering heat, but the school was like Antarctica inside. The idiots that run the school apparently had no idea how to control the temperature.

Shaking those thoughts from her head, she picked up her phone and checked if she had any messages. Ruby had promised to text her in the morning before her shift started at her grandmother's diner.

Despite graduating from high school, the brunette girl had decided to stay in Storybrooke to help her elderly grandmother with the diner. Of course, her granny had insisted that she hadn't needed the help, although the collapse in the storage room months prior had told otherwise.

Emma was glad that she wasn't leaving, although that may be selfish of her. She only had Belle to talk with in school now, and with Graham leaving, she had no one else outside of school to hang with. Hopefully one of the girls would be up to playing the new game system that she had gotten for her birthday over the summer as their male friend had.

Speaking of Ruby, a smile crossed over her face as she saw a text from said girl.

_Hey, Swan. Ready for a new day in Hell?_

She chuckled and shook her head, the Hell joke about school between the four never got old. As far as they knew, the principal was the devil and the teachers his little minions.

_Yeah. Right._

Emma hit send and set her phone down so she could quickly strip from her sleeping attire and don the casual clothing that she set out. Then her phone buzzed again, lighting up with a new message from Ruby.

The blonde teenager dropped onto her small, twin-sized bed with a pair of boots. Simultaneously checking the message and pulling her boots on, she read what her friend had replied.

_Good luck. Sorry I can't be there._

Emma smiled sadly and replied with an, _it's okay, I'll survive._

There soon was a knock on the wall of Emma's bedroom, which had made the blonde look up. A woman with short, black hair stood in the doorway with a friendly smile on her face. The colors she wore were quite pastel and very conservative. The woman standing there was her mother, Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret Nolan, along with her husband David Nolan, had adopted Emma into their family just a year and a half ago. The young girl's parents had, what she assumed, abandoned her at an orphanage and left her to be tossed from family to family every time she did something that they didn't like. She had yet to do just that with the nice, young couple that had taken her in. Somewhere deep down, she knew that they wouldn't. The two wore fresh and loving smiles on their faces and they were all too eager to have her lodging in their small loft.

Emma was dubious about the two at first upon her arrival. The apartment was small and run down. It seemed to be on the ghetto side of Storybrooke. Or so she thought, at least. The town was pretty immaculate and quiet. Teenagers and drunks were the only problem that the sheriff's station had, because word travels fast and she was sure if something much larger and important were to happen, she would hear of it immediately. After all, her new father worked at the station as the sheriff.

Whatever judgements and accusations she had towards the Nolans, though, quickly vanished when they provided her with everything that they could afford, including her very own room equipped with an older laptop model. Emma hadn't minded at all, for it would be the very first of her own.

Emma and Mary Margaret had hit it off quite well and the blonde soon learned that she and David had been too busy to try for a baby at the moment. They wanted kids, but it was too hectic for them to care for a little one while also juggling with their jobs. They had heard about the foster care system and had become immediately interested in signing up to take in an older teen. Of course, the blonde, upon hearing this, was a bit angry that they were just using her as a filler for their own desire for children, but her resentment soon vanquished as the two grew on her. She was more than happy to oblige to whatever they tried to include her in. It had always been a losing fight to win over her previous foster parents' affection, especially the ones that only used her as a check for their own selfish desires.

Here, despite such a small age difference between them, Emma felt wanted for the first time since the very first family she was put into. They were concerned enough to ask her how her day was or what was wrong if she were to show any sign of distress. Although, the teen could admit that they could be quite smothering.

"Hey," the blonde greeted the woman in her doorway with a smile.

"Are you ready for your first day of senior year?" Mary Margaret asked, pushing herself from the door frame. "You look pretty."

Emma blushed slightly at her comment as a slender finger flicked a blonde curl from her face before cupping a cheek. "Thanks."

"I made breakfast. Might as well eat before we head off to school." She chuckled.

"I guess," Emma shrugged slightly and bent to grab her backpack that leaned against the bed. She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked behind her foster-mother.

"At least take a piece of toast before you leave." The brunette woman pleaded. She knew that Emma never really ate breakfast in the mornings. Her foster daughter usually liked to take the extra time to sleep and just dart out the door after getting ready.

"Fine." Emma playfully rolled her eyes. "For you."

"Thank you, Emma." Mary Margaret quickly wrapped her arms around Emma, leaving the teenager to stiffen momentarily before awkwardly hugging her back. "See you later, okay? Love you. Have a good day and tell me about your classes when you get home!"

"Love you, too and I will!" The blonde sheepishly replied, pulling away so she could jog down the stairs. Footsteps behind her told Emma that Mary Margaret was following on her trail towards the kitchen, probably to make sure that she would grab that toast.

After toasting up a piece of bread, Emma quickly left the apartment and started on her way to school. She preferred to walk, even though Mary Margaret had offered many times to drive her since the high school only a few blocks before the elementary school where she worked. Emma had politely declined until wintertime when the pixie-haired woman had insisted on taking her to school. The blonde teen reluctantly obliged, secretly glad that she had since it there were usually nasty storms during that time.

Often times she carpool with Ruby, but since her friend had graduated this year, she was out of luck. And now she really wished that Ruby was still attending school because it was hot as hell and she was already drowning in her own sweat. Slowly, she regretted ever putting on this damn hoodie.

After what seemed like an eternity in the grueling heat, Emma had finally arrived. Students were scattered through the halls, most standing and chatting with friends that they hadn't seen over the summer. The myriad of voices in the air very nearly gave Emma a headache. There was always a reason why she hated school. It wasn't so much for the courses, no, but the students instead.

She made haste to get away from the crowd, maneuvering every which was so she could get through and find her home room. She surely hoped not many people would be in there right away. Silence already seemed so nice. With that on the brain, she continued to push through the people stuffed in the main hallway, but not before she had run right into another body. Or so to say, they ran into her.

"Watch it," a voice warned, but then stopped as eyes met her own. "Swan."

"Killian." Emma gritted through her teeth, forcing a smile on her lips.

"Fancy seeing you here."

"It's school. Of course I'm here." She rolled her eyes.

Killian had always been on her trail like a damned lost puppy ever since her arrival to Storybrooke high. She knew the boy had an infatuation with her, for if his constant following her around was not evidence enough, he shamelessly flirted with her. She told him several times that she was not interested, but all he kept saying was that she would change her mind eventually. But little did he know that, that would never come true. She just wasn't interested in any man, but of course, she wouldn't say anything. Why not have a little fun in teasing him?  
"Where are you headed?"

"Homeroom."

"Oh? Ms. Nova isn't in there."

Emma rolled her eyes. Did she mention that he even had his home room changed so he could be in it with her?

"She usually has her door unlocked."

"It's locked."

"Where's your shit?" The blonde quirked a brow, finally looking over the boy in front of her. He had nothing on him. Not even a pencil.

"Uh…"

"Yeah. Move. I wanna get my schedule." She pushed passed him, hoisting her backpack further on her shoulder as it began to slip again.

"Yeah! I wonder if we have any classes together." His brows waggled as he caught up with her.

Emma looked at him and rolled her eyes again. "Knowing you, probably. You stole my schedule before the break."

"Pft." Killian smirked and followed her into Ms. Nova's classroom.

"Emma Nolan!" A light and cheery voice greeted the blonde as soon as she dropped her bag by the desk she usually took towards the back of the room. Her head raised to see Ms. Nova step towards her with a piece of paper in hand.

"It's Swan," she corrected.

"Right. I'm sorry. I was just reading the name on the schedule." she smiled apologetically, handing the paper over to Emma. "Are you excited for senior year?"

"As excited as I'll ever be." She drawled in response, her eyes glued to the paper. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"What do you have first period?" Killian's voice immediately broke the momentary silence as Ms. Nova walked away and Emma's eyes roved over the paper in her hand.

"First period I have composition." She said, looking up at his crestfallen face. "What? Don't have it?"

"No. I took comp last year." A small pout formed on his lips. "What else do you have?"

"I have algebra two-"

"I have that, too! Second?"

"Yeah…" Emma glared at him before continuing. "Then I have gym. And after that creative writing, open lunch, my government class, and finally some art class that Belle's taking."

"What?" Killian looked at her with wide eyes. "All I have is gym and creative writing. When do you have them? Who do you have?"

"Stop asking all these questions! You're giving me a headache." Emma grumbled, looking at the paper for names. "I have Mr. Hurst for gym and Mrs… Mills?"

"Oh. You got Ms. Mills." His eyes looked sympathetic as he looked at her.

"Why, because you don't?" she teased.

"No. Because she's a bitch and she grades like one, too."

"How do you know?"

"I had her for English." he visibly grimaced. "I barely passed that class, and you know how good I am at writing. She hates everyone and no one's work is good enough. Rumor has it, no one had ever gotten anything higher than a B in her class before. And the people who got a B were the smart ones."

"Shit, really?" Emma narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief. "Mary Margaret had promised me her old car by the end of the year if I got straight A's."

"You're fucked out of a car, then."

"I'm gonna ask Belle. She had her… I think. Well, she took a lot of English classes." Emma rubbed the bridge of her nose and slumped into the desk, head buried into her arms. "I thought this year was going to be easy."

"Emma?" A soft voice reached the blonde's ears. It held a familiar accent that immediately made the teenager jump up from her seat and grab the source of disturbance.

"Belle!"  
"Yes? Emma, what is it?" she looked at her worried, eyes big.

"Have you had that... Mrs. Mills?"

"Ms. Mills? Yeah. She's pretty tough on grades." Belle tilted her head.

"You're a brainiac. What did you get? Numb nuts over here says no one has ever gotten an A in her class."

The brunette bit her lip and looked down. "I had all straight A's except for that class. No matter how much effort I put into my papers, she always seemed to give me low grades. I never understood why."

"Holy shit. I'm fucked." Emma slumped back down into her desk.

"You got her?"

"Yeah. For creative writing."

"Don't worry, Em. You're a brilliant writer." Belle reassured with a frowned, sitting in the desk next to her. A hand rubbed the blonde's back. "You'll do good."

"I'm not as good as you and I need all A's. I wanna get the hell out of Dodge in my own ride by the end of the year." Emma whined, thumping her head on the desk several times.

"She's losing it, Belle. Do something."

"Emma, please… Don't stress. You have a better imagination than I. Remember? I'm the bookworm." she smiled dubiously.

Belle had always been the more quiet one of the group, just tagging along because she felt she had to. Emma suspected that she did quite enjoy the loud parties that they went to most of the time despite the way she says she'd rather be home reading a book. She usually teased Belle about being a bookworm or a nerd because every time that Emma turned around, the brunette was doing some kind of homework or reading some kind of material. Even though she teased, Emma had to admit she admired Belle's much more calmer side when away from Ruby. She was the friend one would go to just to talk about each other's day over coffee and cocoa or read in comfortable silence.

Also, Belle said her writing rocked. Which, of course, was something coming from a girl who read so many literature pieces that would make Emma's head explode. She usually tried to take her word for it, and right now she wished her brain would accept the kind words and ease the anxiety building in the pit of her stomach.

"If you say so…" she groaned softly and sighed.

"And think of it this way Em, if you don't like the class, you could always change your schedule." The brunette looked at her with kind eyes.

"You're right. I can. I probably will." Emma nodded upon a sigh, fingers tangling through her own blonde curls. "Thanks. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Probably get a concussion." Belle joked.

"Yeah, well." Emma chuckled and looked over to the clock, noticing it to be four minutes until the bell would ring. "You should probably go before you're late to home room."

"Right." Belle nodded and hugged Emma quickly before standing. "See you in gov. Tell me how it goes with the hardass."

Emma laughed and nodded at the word that Belle had said, knowing the brunette rarely ever cursed. "Yeah. Thanks. Good luck with your other classes."

* * *

Emma both hated and enjoyed the first day of school and that was pretty self explanatory. The worst part of the day would be the amount of people trying to find their classrooms. They had a tendency to stop in front of her in the hallways, only to turn around, or cut across. And she hated the freshmen, God did she hate them. They were the worst and that was only because they were most of the population that stopped and turned every which way in front of her. Sometimes they apologized excessively, but those were usually the more meek ones.

Now, for Emma, none of that was a problem. Her first three periods were quite easy to find, considering that she had had the teachers the previous year. Upon further inspection, the only new teachers that she would be having were Mrs. Mills and the new art teacher, Ms. Boyd. Emma had, plenty of times, been to the art room so she was quite certain where that was. As for creative writing, she wasn't quite sure, but she would cross that bridge when she got there.

First period was a drag. They went over the syllabus for the class with Mr. Booth, who she had the previous year for English, who then introduced himself with the same information she had already learned. They then proceeded with a self-introductory worksheet before introducing themselves to the class fully. It was more of a "turn to the person sitting next to you, share your name and a fact, then re-introduce them to the class." God how Emma hated doing that. And how she hated that Killian just had to be seated next to her. So, of course, she grudgingly shared a fact that she thought he was stupid and, naturally, he told the class she had a huge crush on him. Luckily, everyone passed it off for a joke as she rolled her eyes with rose-tinted cheeks. Damn bastard. He must have lied about not having comp just to spite her and that just made her hate him even more.

Second period was much like first. More self-introductory routines. More classroom rules and going over the syllabus. This time Killian was placed a few rows away from her. She smirked as he had noticed that on the seating chart shown on the front board. Good. Emma didn't need to sit next to him for another hour. One was enough. Mr. Spencer had given them a review quiz from what they had learned last year which coincidentally took up the last half hour of class and they were soon able to leave.

Third period rolled around and Emma could feel her stomach knotting up. Next period was creative writing. She knew she had nothing to worry about just yet, considering it was the first day and she was quite sure that the teacher would end up forcing them to, yet again, introduce themselves. She would probably yap about herself for the rest of the period. But that wasn't until an hour away. Right now was gym class and she was forced to sit on the bleachers in the only gym this school seemed to deem fit for the class, even though it seemed to be falling apart. Why hadn't they just used the newer gym? Idiots.

Mr. Hurst had spent the better half of the class talking about what they would be doing and the guidelines they had to follow. Eventually it shifted towards the required push-up and sit-up tests as well as the pacer that anyone and everyone who took gym was required to do. Personally, Emma thought it was stupid and wished they would get straight to running outside around the track. Running always cleared her head which was why she usually took classes that usually revolved around cardio fitness and aerobics.

She had eventually zoned out from the man's droning voice as her green eyes searched the gym. Across from them was a second class. She wasn't sure which one it was, but Killian was in there, and currently he was making googly eyes at her. She scowled and averted her gaze to look at the clock. Ten minutes left. It felt like butterflies were making a windstorm in her stomach. It kept turning and turning and she felt as if she were going to be sick.

She had no reason to feel sick. They were just rumors. Even people like Belle can get a B from time to time. What did this woman even look like, anyways? The paper said Mrs., so Emma was assuming she was older. That would probably explain why she was so harsh on grading. Great. _An old bat that'll probably hate me,_ she thought.

Then it happened. The bell rang and Emma's heart sank. She got up from the bleachers and made her way towards the door, ignoring the way Killian was calling her name. Emma hastily made her way to the door, only to be blocked by the large number of idiots trying to exit at the same time. She stopped and huffed, giving in as she turned to the boy behind her.

"Hey," he said.  
"What?"

"What do you have next?"

"Creative writing. You know this."

"Oh, shit. Yeah." He bit his lower lip for a moment and smirked. "Good luck."

"Yeah…" Emma rolled her eyes once again and left for the exit as soon as it had cleared up. Then she was virtually shuffling as slowly as possible to her next class. She was so unsure of it now. Both of them seemed to sympathize her about having Mrs. Mills as a teacher and it wasn't something to celebrate. She almost contemplated skipping, but that would be pointless. At least she would give this teacher, this class, a chance. If she didn't like it by the end of the day, she would change up her schedule.

Emma turned down the English hallway, schedule in hand as she gazed the classroom numbers. Her eyes landed on the one that matched the numbers on the paper. Exhaling slowly, she entered the classroom to find it halfway full. There weren't many people here so far. It made her wonder exactly how many people didn't want to be in this woman's class.

Taking her lower lip between her teeth, she sought out a seat in the back of the class. She figured that they were able to choose their own seats, seeing as to how there was no chart around. She didn't mind. That meant she could keep away from most people. She enjoyed the freedom of the last seat in a row. It made her feel more isolated, even though there was still a whole class of people in front of her.

Emma glanced up towards the clock and noticed that there was still about two minutes of passing period time. She must have gotten here faster than she thought if she had that much time left. Shrugging mentally, she gazed around the room in hopes to find out more about the infamous teacher. There were no personal pictures. No indicators of anything that would show personality. Just the usual boring classroom with encouraging posters about English and writing. Her eyes focused on the front wall. It looked like two white boards with one of the smartboards nestled between them. On on of the white boards was written in cursive_ Miss Mills._

Funny, Emma thought. On her schedule it said she was a Mrs. Or so she thought. She looked down to the schedule once again and finally noticed that most of the names actually had Mrs. in front of it. She blinked. Weird.

Must have been a printing error or something. So perhaps it won't be an old biddy that would enter the classroom. Come to think of it, Emma hadn't really seen many elderly teachers around. Only one or two upstairs and her math teacher down here.

And then she entered the room, which was now mostly filled up with students who had been talking about their classes so far. But Emma hadn't paid any attention to them. Her eyes were locked on the woman with dark brown hair that barely just reached her shoulders, large, brown eyes that Emma swore she could melt upon seeing them, and plump lips painted a deep shade of crimson. Emma could cry. That pantsuit outfit she wore was just all kinds of tight and generous with a few buttons on her red, silk blouse unbuttoned and that jet black jacket matched perfectly with the slacks, which left enough view of the high heels she wore.

Mouth dry, Emma just couldn't take her eyes away from this gorgeous woman. Surely the olive toned beauty couldn't be the bitch teacher? No way. She was… She was so… _hot_. That couldn't be her. She looked so young. Maybe her friends made a mistake. Maybe they were thinking of another Mills in this school. It couldn't be her.

God, no. Not with that ass. Emma's forest green eyes stuck like glue to her teacher's posterior as she turned to fiddle with the smartboard. Those slacks did her much justice, hugging the curve of her ass which left little to the imagination. Suddenly, the blonde was thinking about how Ms. Mills would look without those pants on and what kind of undergarments she wore. Granny panties? Silk? Satin? Lace? Thong? And… oh, God. What if she wore nothing?

_Bleeeeeeeeeep!_

Then the bell rang, nearly causing Emma to fall out of her seat as she jumped. All naughty thoughts about her teacher immediately dissipating. Then she noticed that Ms. Mills had an eyebrow quirked as she stared at the blonde.

"Sorry…" she said sheepishly, shrinking in her seat with burning cheeks. Everyone was looking at her now.

"I certainly do hope that you won't be spacing off during my class." Ms. Mills spoke and oh God, that did funny things to Emma's insides. Her voice was as sexy and seductive as her body. It was deep and husky in all the good ways. How was she ever going to survive this class?

"I-I won't…" Emma wanted to slap herself.

"Good. Tell me your name." She looked down to the list in front of her, or so Emma assumed since she couldn't see the podium.

"Emma. Emma Swan- I mean, Nolan." The blonde bit the inside of her cheek, reprimanding herself for using Swan. She was too used to using that last name. It was the name of the first family she moved in with. They were so kind to her, that was, until they got pregnant and sent her back. But she enjoyed her time with them and using the last name that they had given her would be a reminder to herself. Of course, she loved the Nolans dearly, but she much preferred using Swan, and since no other family ever bothered to care about her last name until now, they obliged, only wanting her to be happy.

Ms. Mills quirked one of those damn perfectly manicured eyebrows once again at the slip before the chocolate brown orbs roved over the paper. "Thank you, Ms. Nolan."

"Swan. Please, call me Swan, not Nolan." Emma braved.

"Alright, Ms. Swan." The blonde swore she could see a twitch on Ms. Mills' face as if she were trying to hide her amusement. God, she only knew this woman for less than ten minutes and she was already obsessed.

Shit.

After Ms. Mills had taken attendance, she pushed the podium aside and clicked a button on the remote she held for the electronic board.

"As you all may know, I am Regina Mills, but please do call me Ms. Mills. I teach both English and creative writing here at the school." She offered the class a smile, which seemed a little too forced, but Emma brushed that off and continued to stare at the way her mouth moved with every vowel.

"Of course, as you know, you are in creative writing. I'm sure you're all well aware that it is not a required course and if you cannot handle the fact that I do take my classes seriously and this will not just be an easy A for you because you are so well inclined to write words on paper, you may talk with your counselor and change your schedule. I will not tolerate freeloaders and I do not give out extra credit. You must take this course seriously as you would with your writing." The teacher had paced across the room now, then turned to face the students once again. "I'm quite sure that you may have heard from fellow students that had previously taken my course that it's hard. Truly, it is not. All I ask of you is to use your imagination to your full capacity. I am fickle about proper grammar and sentence structure, so please do review your work. If you do not, it will only hurt your grade."

Emma was starting to space out again as the woman spoke about the class and what is to be expected. The yellow paper passed out was the syllabus that had most of the same requirements and criteria that every other class had. Hearing about this for the fourth time in one day was tiring and Emma found herself staring at Regina's moving mouth. After spending so much time there, she noticed a few things like Ms. Mills had a scar on her upper right lip or that she licked those red lips every few sentences.

It wasn't until Emma was handed another paper that she had snapped out of her trance and decided that it was time to pay attention again. She grabbed the white piece of parchment and read over the black print.

"I would like your first assignment to be a short one to two page summary of your summer. Do feel inclined to write some information about yourself in it as well. I would like to learn more about you."

A student raised their hand. "Is this graded?"

"No, it's not. This is a test so I know where you're at with your writing and creative skills." Then she was walking towards Emma, and oh God, the blonde thought she got caught spacing off again. But then Regina moved right past her to the teacher's desk in the corner of the room, which had coincidentally been right next to the blonde's.

Shit.

Emma had thoughtlessly taken the desk next to the teacher's because she wanted to figure out who the hell was going to be teaching her. She held in a breath, then exhaled, looking at Ms. Mills in the corner of her eye.

The brunette teacher had taken an apple out of her desk, a perfect, deep red. Just like her lips. Then she had taken out a small container that Emma could only guess was her lunch. After all, next period was her own, and the only lunch periods were fourth and fifth.

_Oh._

She smirked to herself, eyes roaming over the piece of paper in her hand. It was open lunch and she was free to do what she wished. Perhaps she could stay behind some days and work. Of course, that was if Ms. Mills would allow her. She didn't know much about her yet, but she certainly hoped she wasn't too strict.

Sighing to herself, Emma gazed up at the clock once again. There was about twenty minutes left of class. She really didn't want to have to write at the moment, so instead, she lightly tapped her pencil on the surface of her desk.

"Emma," the sound of her name was an annoyed whisper. The blonde looked up to see Ms. Mills staring at her pencil, then those muddy eyes raised to her face, which ultimately caused her to drop the utensil.

"Sorry."

"Get to work."

Emma bowed her head and stared at the prompt in front of her. And stared. She stared so hard, she was sure it would burst into flame.

Then she heard a sigh behind her, but this time she didn't look up, she bent down and shuffled through her bag until she pulled out a clean notebook and opened it. Immediately, she got to writing about the beginning of her summer, only to pause mid-paragraph for a chanced glance at her teacher.

And her pencil dropped onto the paper.

_Hot damn._

She put on glasses.

Regina Mills was wearing glasses and that was the hottest thing. She didn't think the brunette could get anymore attractive, but the way she pulled her plump, lower lip into her mouth as she read a paper in front of her just caused Emma's heart to flutter.

Then brown eyes met green.

And that damned eyebrow quirked.

The blonde immediately looked back to her paper, picked up her pencil, and resumed writing. And, oh God, she swore she could feel Regina _smirking_ behind her. But she didn't dare look as she scribbled on the paper as fast as her hand could manage. It wasn't long until the bell had sounded, announcing that class was over.

Emma didn't move.

She continued to sit there as every other student filed out of the room, seemingly as quickly as they could, dropping their finished assignments on the podium. They probably wanted to get to lunch. Emma didn't mind. She had no where to go and school lunch didn't sound appetizing.

There was a popping sound as a lid separated from its container. She lifted her gaze to furtively watch as Ms. Mills began to prepare her lunch. Apparently she ate in her room. Interesting.

The brunette teacher didn't seem to take any action towards Emma's presence. The blonde didn't make any plan to move, either, for she continued to scribble onto the paper about her summer.

"Are you going to leave any time soon, Ms. Swan?" That husky voice finally spoke of Emma's presence and she shivered.

"I was just going to finish my paper," she quickly explained.

"You seem to make yourself known." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Emma stopped and dropped her pencil to look at the teacher, who had now been chewing something.

After a few moments, she answered, "First off, you nearly jump out of your seat at the beginning of class like a cat in a thunderstorm." her brow quirked. "And don't think I hadn't noticed you staring at me for most of the period. You would have had that assignment finished like the rest of your classmates if you hadn't been doing just that."

Emma blushed slightly and looked down at her paper for a moment.

"And now you bring it upon yourself to stay in class during my lunch hour and finish work that could very well have been done in class. I must say, Emma, my first impression of you is not the best." Regina stabbed a piece of what appeared to be lettuce and brought the fork out of the container. "If you continue to make a habit out of this, let me tell you, this semester will be a long one."

"I'm sorry." she mumbled softly, feeling her heart weigh heavy in her chest. "Look, I'll get this done and be out of your hair."

"Do you need a pass after you are finished?" She asked, taking out a small pad of pass-papers.

Emma shook her head, pencil tapping on the paper once again. "I have open lunch."

"I see," Ms. Mills put the pad back and delicately wrapped her lips around the fork, pulling it away as she chewed the leaf.

The sight had Emma almost crying for mercy. What the hell was with her? This was her damn teacher. She supposed it wasn't exactly illegal to feel attracted to your teacher. Students are always crushing after their professors. It's not like they had a chance, anyways. It's not like she had the chance.

Oh, god, there were so many reasons why she didn't have a chance. That woman could be dating someone. She didn't have any rings on, so Emma assumed she wasn't engaged or married. And even if she were single, Emma had little to no chance. First of all, she was sure Ms. Mills was one-hundred percent straight, and second, she would never go for someone her age. Illogical.

"You're staring again, Ms. Swan. Must I get you a laser pointer to divide your attention elsewhere? Whatever has you so fascinated, you must concentrate it onto your paper." she quirked a brow at a blushing Emma, who had been rather embarrassed that she had gotten caught once again.

"Sorry…" she mumbled and turned to complete the paper. About ten minutes later, she was finished with the assignment, and Ms. Mills appeared to be done with her lunch. Emma stood and handed over the paper, which had become longer than she had anticipated.

"Thank you. Enjoy your lunch." Regina offered her a soft smile as she took the notebook and sat it in front of herself. Soon, those glasses were back in place as she began to read the words on the paper.

"Thanks. You too, and sorry again for ruining your lunch." Emma sighed softly and gathered her belongings before rushing out of the room, completely oblivious to the reply of "you didn't ruin my lunch" behind her.

* * *

"So, I see you survived her class." Belle chuckled, bumping her arm playfully against Emma's as the blonde arrived into the government classroom and took the seat next to her best friend.

"Yeah. It wasn't so bad." Emma shrugged. "I thought she was gonna be old or something."

"No, she isn't. Well, she is. She's like… almost forty. She told us when I was in her class."

"Fuck," Emma blinked and stared at Belle with incredulous eyes. "I thought she was like… twenty five or something."

"Try thirty seven."

"Shit," the blonde muttered. Regina was twenty years older than her. There was definitely a clusterfuck of emotions going through her mind right now, and not one of them was good at the moment.

"What's wrong?" Belle blinked, completely oblivious.

Emma turned to her friend, mouth slightly gaped open.

"Emma?"

"She's…" she dramatically twitched her eyes and dropped her head onto her desk.

The brunette next to her could only frown and sympathize, patting her back. "Hey, what's wrong, hon?"

"She's so _hot._" Emma whimpered sadly. "I mean… fuck. I couldn't stop staring at her and she… she _knew_."

"What?" Belle blinked, then burst out laughing. She laughed. She had the audacity to _laugh_.

"What?!" Emma threw her hands up, the pout on her lips only forcing Belle to laugh violently.

It was no secret to Belle or Ruby that Emma was actually into girls. They supported her and she promised to never make a move on them. They only laughed and joked that they probably weren't her type anyways. She loved them dearly for understanding, unlike many of the friends she had in her past life.

"If I would have known the type you went for was the whole regal and bitchy latina, I would have told you that you'd like her." Belle snorted a laugh through her nose, trying to calm down. Their teacher, Mr. Glass, had shot them several warning glances.

"I don't think my type is exactly_ that_. I mean… I like the brown hair and eyes… and, shit, she can really pull off that power suit."

"Wait until she wears the pencil skirt." The moment the words were out of her mouth, Belle looked as if she were going to hit herself.

"Wait. She wears… Oh god. And the glasses. And… She will be the end of me, Belle. How am I going to survive this year?"

"I don't know, Em. You're out of luck." She chuckled once again.

"She's twenty years older than me." Emma finally realized once again, a blank look on her face.

"So you like older women. What's the deal?" Her friend shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess… nothing. Not like anything's gonna happen anyways." Emma sighed softly and played with one of her blonde curls. "Damn."

"You must really like her. I mean, holy crap, Em. You've known her for an hour and you've spend an hour talking about her." Belle blinked, completely astonished by her friend's reaction.

"It's probably just a small crush. It'll end soon."

"I guess we'll see." Belle shrugged and stood from her desk. The rest of the class had done the same and headed for the door.

"Class is over?"

"I told you that you had been talking about her for the past hour." The brunette chuckled. "Come on, we need to get to art class."

* * *

After art class had ended, Emma and Belle had left school to head towards Ruby's grandmother's diner, Granny's. They decided to drop by for a visit with their other best friend to see how she was doing and tell her about their day. Both girls knew she'd have a laugh and say sorry for your time in Hell, but one year left, and you'll be living the freelife like me. Well, that was something she had said at the end of last year after her graduation.

Opening the door, Emma entered Granny's and smiled over to Ruby who had been behind the counter looking bored. The cafe was empty for the most part except for a few students here and there, enjoying an after school snack.

"Hey, yo, my peeps!" Ruby chuckled and waved the two teens over to the counter. "What do you want?"

"What I usually get." Emma shrugged indifferently as Belle nodded, repeating the same.

"Alright. We need an iced tea and a hot cocoa with cinnamon."

Writing down the order, Ruby headed off to gather the drinks. Soon enough she returned with the order, placing each drink in front of their respective owner. The lanky brunette leaned against the counter, dark lids batting.

"So, tell me, how was first day of senior year?"  
"Shitty," Emma mumbled, sipping from her cocoa.

"Emma's got a crush!" Belle squealed immediately, unable to contain her excitement as she bounced on the stool.

Ruby's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the blonde who had now tried to hide her blush with golden locks.

"Em?"

"Goddammit, Belle. Why can't you keep your damn mouth shut?" she pouted slightly.

"Who is she, Em?" The waitress smirked and eyed Belle, knowing she would spill the beans.

Belle smirked and poked Emma's arm, who merely grumbled a profanity, before speaking.  
"It's Ms. Mills."

"You mean the hot bitch that teaches English?" Ruby's eyes widened with surprise. "I didn't know you went for that type, Em."

"Shut up." Emma growled, glaring over at Belle.

"She said she couldn't stop staring at her butt." The younger brunette smirked, waggling her brows. "Emma talked about her all during Gov."

"Shut. Up." The blush on the blonde's cheeks only darkened as Belle spoke. "Just shuttup!"

"No! I wanna hear more about this crush on old hardass." Ruby bit her red lip.

"She's not old!" Emma defended, which only caused her cheeks to burn darker.

That caused both of her friends to quirk a brow. "Defensive much, Em?"

"Shut up!" She whined and got up from her spot, downing the rest of her hot cocoa before slapping some money onto the counter and leaving.

"I think we went too far." she heard Belle say to Ruby who only laughed.

"Nah, she's just embarrassed."

Emma ignored Belle's apology and Ruby's laughing as she power walked herself home. She knew she should have never said anything to Belle about her little staring contest with Ms. Mills' ass. She knew she should have just kept her lips sealed. Goddammit, now they're going to tease her about it. Hopefully whatever this little crush is will go away soon. It was just lust after all. Nothing more than desire that she usually felt for most women she found attractive. Little did she know, she would be dead wrong in the weeks to come.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret stopped the blonde teen in her tracks as she entered the apartment. "There you are! I was worried. I thought you would come home right after school."

"I'm sorry, Mary Margaret. I stopped to see Ruby." she bit her lip. "I'll text you if I do it again. I just wanted to tell her about my first day. She wanted to know."

"Oh. It's fine, honey. As long as you're okay." The small brunette smiled and wrapped her arms around Emma for a moment. "How was your first day?"

"It wasn't too bad." Emma shrugged, avoiding any possible conversation about her creative writing class.

"Oh?"

Emma nodded and followed her foster-mother to the kitchen. She sat by the counter on the stool and told her about her day starting with first period and Killian being annoying to art class where she was able to have class with Belle and playfully doodle random things to each other during the teacher's introduction. This earned a disapproving look, but upon seeing some of the silly pictures on the paper, she chuckled.


	2. Second Day

**A/N: First of all, I would like to thank you for all of the positive feedback! It just made me smile that you actually liked my story. :) I certainly hope that I can live up to your expectations with the chapters to come. Second, I've read a few comments about the age of Regina in this story. Personally, I like the larger age difference and I hoped to address it further on in conversation between the two. But you shall see. :)**

**(I also threw in a little something about Regina's dislike of Snow in there, even though it's not direct in the story since they don't know each other. ;))**

* * *

"Why the hell are you in here, anyways? I thought you said you didn't have comp." Emma was lounging in the desk to her first period class on the second day of school. She had the honor of sitting next to Killian's non-stop babbling about his day yesterday, acting as if Emma actually cared about that. Finally fed up, she interrupted him with the question she had yesterday after realizing that he, too, had composition with her.

The brunette looked at her, a bushy eyebrow quirked. "Haven't you figured it out? I lied."

"Big surprise." Emma muttered under her breath, playing with one of her mechanical pencils. Currently, they were listening to Mr. Booth continue with the classroom rules. Of course, most of the class had taken to do their own thing as his voice seemed to drone on about not having your cell phones out during class and _blah blah blah_…

Emma was nearly falling asleep by then, finding her eyes drooping closed every so often. It was quite the struggle to stay awake, and goddamn, she hoped that she could. Curse her for staying up too late last night, but for the life of her, she just couldn't fall asleep. This day was going to be a long one.

"Em." The voice made the blonde jump slightly in her seat, then shoot daggers at the source.

"What?" she snapped, trying so hard to ignore the chuckle coming from that arrogant ass and to keep herself from kicking said ass in the nuts.

Killian smirked. "How did it go with… _her_?"

"_Her_?" Emma repeated with confusion until it hit her. He was talking about her fourth period class. And the woman who taught it.

"Oh. Uh, not too bad. I bet she hates me." The blonde shrugged nonchalantly and made chicken scratches with her pencil on the classroom rules paper, praying that he wouldn't pry too much and make her blurt out her stupid little crush.

"What'd you do?" He quirked a brow at her. "Day number one: Piss off the bear. Not a good idea."

"Pretty much. I'm a nuisance and I was also caught staring."

Killian smirked. "You too, huh?"

Emma looked at him, nearly having forgotten that he had taken a class with Ms. Mills before. It wasn't a surprise to her that he probably had been staring at the brunette teacher as well. And for some reason, something just bristled inside of her. She didn't want _anyone_ else looking at the English teacher like that.

"What do you mean?" she grit the words between her teeth.

"I couldn't believe it, either." He explained. "When everyone said she was a bitch, I assumed she was ugly and old or something. Usually those teachers are, but fuck… She's young and _hot_."

"Yeah, thanks for warning me. Both you and Belle seemed to have left that little detail out. I was worried that she was one of those teachers that hated a student instantly without a reason."

"At least you don't have to worry about her hating you for no reason." The boy shrugged and smirked. "She gave me detention before and there was a reason."

"... why?" Emma was scared to ask. She was quite certain of what he did, upon the new revelations. Killian and his incapability to control the dangly parts attached to him.

"I touched the butt."

And Emma nearly launched herself from her desk to strangle that boy sitting next to her. It took every fiber of her being to keep her muscles still. "You...sexually harassed your teacher?" she growled softly, trying to keep herself as calm as possible.

"Have you seen her ass?"

"You're a pervert." Emma rolled her eyes and leaned back against her chair. "A fucking horny perv."

He smirked and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Isn't someone jealous?"

Then Emma nearly had a heart palpitation. She was sure she would pop a hernia right there from his words. Did he know? Fuck. Shitshitshitshitshit…

"Don't worry, there's enough Killian Jones to go around."

She sighed in relief. He was talking about himself. But what he had said made her glare at him, wishing his skin would burn underneath the heated stare. "You wish."

He opened his mouth to speak, but the bell interrupted him and Emma stood up to follow the rest of the class out the door. Thank God he didn't sit next to her in Mr. Spencer's class, or she'd have to hear _another_ speech about how he'd be _oh so_ good to and for her. It was sickening that he was wasting his time on her. She just wished he would move on. She was a lost cause and, even though he wasn't _exactly_ her friend, she did feel sorry for him because of that.

* * *

"I've read your assignments from yesterday and I must admit that I am impressed with what I saw." Ms. Mills smiled towards the class as she walked around the room with a stack of papers in her arms. "I've taken the liberty to make a note on each. You may take a few minutes to look them over before I pick them up."

She began to pass the papers back out to their owners, the tight pencil skirt that she wore today tightened around her buttox every time she moved or bent over. Emma only knew this because she had been staring the entire time. It seemed as if her eyes were permanently glued to such forbidden territory and she certainly did hope that Ms. Mills won't soon find out where her eyes usually are upon a turned back.

Quickly averting her gaze before the teacher could catch her staring, she took the time to drink up the classroom again. There were more open seats today for it appeared that the number of students had decreased. Perhaps they got scared about Ms. Mills' warning yesterday and decided to take her advice and visit with the counselor. Such a shame, Emma thought, they were missing out.

"Emma," she heard her name used by that seductive voice of Regina's and looked up to see a notebook being handed to her. She forgot about not ripping the pages out before she left.

In her embarrassment, she grinned sheepishly and took it, opening the cover so she could look at the first page. Just her words were written on it. It wasn't until the final page that she saw red ink formed into cursive writing in the empty space below the finale of her words. She read them carefully, smiling to herself.

_"Despite your affinity to be known and somewhat disruptive, I found your skill to be surprisingly impressive. I would honestly have to say you are one of the best young writers that I have had the honor to read. Please, do keep up the good work and try your best. I see that you have a creative imagination. Use it wisely."_

Emma read through the small brick of words again, her eyes catching a small bit of writing at the bottom in pencil. It was still the same cursive as the red writing. She wondered why the hell it had changed. With a shrug, she read the words, nearly chuckling aloud.

_"P.S. I especially enjoyed the part where you nearly lit your foster-mother's pants on fire with a bottle rocket."_

She's pretty damn sadistic. Emma mentally giggled to herself at that thought. She wasn't entirely sure, but a girl could dream. When the blonde gazed up to see if anyone else was done, she noticed Ms. Mills standing at the front of the room with her eyes locked on Emma. A shiver eased its way down her spine as they came into eye contact. The blonde could only offer a sheepish smile, unsure of how else to get out of that without squirming to the floor out of her seat. That offered a small tug of the brunette teacher's lips before she stepped forward.

"Alright, I'll pick them up and we'll begin with today's lesson."

Emma sat through the rest of the class period, her mind on that note in her paper. She knew it was just a thing that teachers did. She didn't take it personally like she was more special than anyone else or anything, but goddamn, it sure felt like it. That totally raised her self-esteem and now she felt more confident than ever that she was going to pass this class with flying colors.

* * *

"She wrote a love note to you on your assignment?" Ruby laughed over the phone as Emma kicked her boots off.

It was the end of the day and Emma had decided to head straight home instead of worrying Mary Margaret again. She forgot her phone at the apartment and didn't want to make the poor brunette fret for her.

Again, though, she had made the mistake of talking to Belle about the note left on her paper from Ms. Mills. She should have known better that that damn bookworm would go and blab to Ruby, because it wasn't ten minutes after she got home and texted Ruby that she called instead of replying.

"I take it you spoke to Belle?"

"Yeah. So is it true? What did she say?"

"Calm your tits, shit. It wasn't a love note. She wrote a note regarding our writing skills at the end of the assignment. She just said that I was pretty good and she was impressed." Emma shrugged and collapsed onto her bed with a sigh.

She could just feel Ruby's smirk over the phone. "I'm sure that's not the only thing she'll be impressed by."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma whined.

"Nothing. That means nothing."

Emma scowled at her phone and crossed her arms, letting the cell lay against her cheek. "You're insane if you think I'll ever be able to get to know her like that, fuck, Rubes. She's probably not even gay."

"You never know!" Ruby sing-songed.

"I'll hang up on you."

"No you won't."

"Fine. But shut up about her." Emma sighed and rolled onto her side, staring blankly at the wall.

"Why?"

"Because. It's stupid and pointless. It'd be different if she were a student, you know? At least I'd have a chance."

"Jeez, Em, lighten up! Just spend some time with her or something. Didn't you say that you spent, like, half your lunch with her?"

Emma frowned and mentally kicked herself. She made the mistake of talking with Ruby later last night as the lanky brunette waitress had texted her sorry with a crying, frowny face. They had talked a bit more and she eventually squeezed more information out of her about Ms. Mills, more than she had told Belle.

"That was to finish a paper and it was just yesterday. I can't just randomly stay in there. She'd think I'm a weirdo or something." The blonde shifted on the bed.

Ruby chuckled. "Wait until you get another paper, you doofus. Maybe then you can. I mean, like, how did it work last time?"

"It was supposed to have been done in class." she murmured. "I doubt the next ones would be like that, considering they'll probably be longer and shit. I can't just stay in during lunch."

"Oh, come on, Em. Take it from the expert, here." Ruby smirked, and Emma could feel it through the way she spoke. "Make up an excuse, like, you can't do it at home or something. I'm sure she'd let you stay."

"Probably not. I doubt she wants me to disrupt her lunch."

"Holy fuck, Emma. Get your head in the fucking game!" Ruby snapped, then muttered a quick apology after a reprimanding voice shouted in the background.  
"Having Granny troubles, I see." Emma chuckled.  
"Shut up." There was some shuffling noise and a click before Ruby spoke again. "Alright, now. Listen to me, girl. I know it'd be weird, like, if you weren't working on it in class, right? And you just stay there and whip it out?"

"Yeah..?"

"Well, how if you 'accidentally' lose track of time or something or try to finish up your thoughts after the bell rings?" she continued.

"Okay?"

There was a long, irritated sigh. "And voila!"

"Look, Rubes, I appreciate your matchmaking help, but it's only been like, what, two days? I just have a crush on her, okay?"

"_Okay_." The word was drawn out as if Ruby didn't believe her.

"And, anyways, what's just sitting in there working on my papers going to do? Make it awkward and make me hungry."

"Take food with you. Make it habitual. Like, ask if you can just eat lunch in there or something. Make it less awkward, and maybe have yourself a break as you eat. Talk." Ruby suggested and Emma swore that she wasn't talking to her friend anymore.

"Huh… Well…" She clucked. "I don't know, Ruby."

"It's just a suggestion. You could try it, or something. Hell, I'll even make you a lunch and you can pick it up in the morning. I've got some stuff that'll last until then."

"Shit. I'll try it. _Once_. Okay? I'll, like, let you know the next time I have a paper." Emma sighed and shook her head. She couldn't believe she was getting herself into this.

"Good! I gotta go, 'cause Granny's gonna bust down the bathroom door if I don't get my ass out and work. So talk to you later. Love you!"  
"Love you, too. Bye!" Emma chuckled and ended the call, leaving herself to her thoughts.

Ruby's suggestion seemed quite tempting. She wasn't exactly sure what the hell she was trying to do. She'd just wait a couple of weeks, or a month even, before she even tries out this little plan. She wants to make sure that she's right and it is just a crush that would only last for a few more days. If not, she could act on it, but that was guaranteed to nothing. Sure, she'd probably look like a teacher's pet or some shit, staying in there after class to spend lunchtime with her.

Even doing that didn't ensure her of anything. It would probably eventually creep Ms. Mills out and she wouldn't want to be around her anymore. Or even if it didn't have a negative effect, she was quite sure that it wouldn't be anything more than a student/teacher relationship. Nothing special and nothing exciting.

And for some reason, that thought just sent her heart sinking. She didn't want to think about that right now. She didn't want to think about any of these weird feelings right now. They were just screwed up and it had only been two days. What the hell.

* * *

**A/N: ****I know that this chapter wasn't as long as the first, but it's going to be a bit of a major thing for what's to come. The next chapter should be up soon after I get to reviewing it and, hopefully, it'll be longer for you guys. Thank you once again for the positive reviews! Please R &R. I do enjoy reading what you have to say!**


	3. Lunch Attempt 1

**A/N: Okay. First and foremost. You. Guys. Are. AMAZING! I've got so many positive reviews from you and they just made my day! I never thought this would be _that_ popular, but I was wrong. Thank you so so so so so much for the positive feedback! I really do enjoy reading what you have to say and I hope you keep giving me your opinions! **

**With that out of the way, here's another chapter for you amazing peoples! I do a bit of skipping in the upcoming ones because I'm trying to get the story to mainly revolve around Emma and Ms. Mills. If any of you have any ideas or whatnot for lunch conversations between the two, you're more than welcome to suggest things! Thank you once again! And I hope you enjoy! Happy reading! :)**

* * *

Emma was quite sure Ruby shit her pants when she got a phone call from the blonde a month and a half into the school year. It was early on a Thursday morning when Emma decided to gain the guts to do it. They had been assigned a new writing assignment and today was their workday, as well as tomorrow. It was going to be a chancey thing, trying out Ruby's suggestion. She would try it today, and if she would be able to stay without Ms. Mills being weirded out by her company, she would even try it again on Friday.

Ruby had been surprised when she got the call just a few minutes ago by Emma. Since it had been so long, the waitress assumed that Emma had been right and the little crush hadn't lasted long. But they were both dead wrong and Emma still couldn't peel her eyes away from her creative writing teacher's ass.

Of course, Ruby had berated Emma with several questions, most consisting of why she hadn't called for the other assignments, but the blonde had told her that she still didn't trust her feelings then. But since it had been so long, she decided that it would be best to act now rather than never and waste any time that could be used trying out this silly plan.

Silly, of course it was. It was more than silly. It was utterly ridiculous. But here she was going through with it.

Emma barely heard the question Mary Margaret yelled after her as the blonde rushed out of the house. Why was she leaving so early? She managed to make an incoherent response about picking lunch up from Ruby and continued on her way to run to the diner.

She sprinted all the way to Granny's where Ruby was literally waiting for her outside with a brown paper bag extended from her hand. She flashed her a knowing smile before going back inside and allowing Emma to head to school, stuffing the bag into her backpack.

The first three periods seemed to go on agonizingly slow and gym was no walk in the park. She had to run and boy, did she run. She felt that if she ran fast enough, the period would end quicker. But she was wrong and Mr. Hurst had to stop her before she burned herself out completely. He sent her to walk, instead of run, around the track, which ultimately caused her to sweat excessively underneath the sun.

Emma was pissed by the time she got to the girls' locker room. She smelled and she didn't have enough time to shower. Oh, great. This was her first impression and she smelled like something had crawled under her arms and died.

She tried her best to mask the stench with a few dampened paper towels and tons of deodorant as well as a strange apple perfume that Mary Margaret had gotten her for her birthday.

By the time she had cleaned up, she was late getting out of class. She cursed to herself and asked the gym teacher for a pass before heading towards the English hallway, her head hanging low as she shamefully entered the classroom.

Ms. Mills was in her desk by then while everyone else was writing on pieces of notebook paper. They started. She walked over to the teacher's desk and smiled a sheepish one, a hand holding the pass out.  
Regina looked up, glasses slipping slightly down the bridge of her nose as she gazed at the blonde in front of her. "Nice of you to join us, Emma." she took the pass and set it on her desk. "I've given you classtime to get started on the assignment I handed out on Tuesday."

Emma nodded and politely took her seat, smiling to herself. Being late gave her an advantage. Perhaps she would have more an excuse to stay after class for lunch. Maybe, just maybe…

Emma took her sweet time writing, thinking up complex words that would surely impress Ms. Mills. She wanted to get as little done as possible without looking like a slacker. It was hard, honestly. Her eyes were constantly on the brunette, watching as each time she looked around the classroom from her computer, Emma would go back to writing.

She had gotten a paragraph and a half when the bell rang. Her stomach did small flips as she remained seated, the other students leaving in haste for lunch. Just like the first day, Ms. Mills didn't comment. She pulled out the same small container, Emma noted as she watched, and a fork that stabbed at lettuce. A salad. She must like to eat healthy, Emma thought with a scrunch of her nose.

Before the fork rose to those deliciously plump lips, Ms. Mills stared at Emma with a quirked brow. "Making a habit of yourself, are we? I know that you have no need to stay in here, Emma. You do know that, don't you? You'll get time tomorrow to work on it in class."

"I… uh…" Emma stuttered, feeling as if her brain were about to malfunction, if it hadn't already. She hadn't thought of a backup plan in case it hadn't worked. It was a surefire success, Ruby had said. Fuck you, Ruby. _Fuck you_.

Ms. Mills kept that brow lifted as she stared at Emma. Slowly, she brought the fork the rest of the way to her mouth and ate what was off of it.

"Are you alright, Emma?"

"I-I don't… time… none. Nope." She tried, but the sentence didn't seem to form. Oh, God, now she wished she could just die.

Regina blinked slightly and tilted her head. "Well, I'm glad that your writing is much more coherent than your speaking, dear."

"S-sorry." Emma looked down to her bag, the lunch Ruby had made her was nearly falling out. Ms. Mills must have noticed her gaze, for her eyes went to the bag.

"Emma, tell me, why are you really in here? Because, clearly, you don't need to work on the paper. Every other student is capable of finishing it within class and I have seen you do it yourself, and turn it in well before others."

"I…" Emma visibly gulped. Fuck. What if she already got caught in the act? What the hell was she going to do? Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit.

"Well?" Ms. Mills stared at her, eyes narrowed, as Emma sat with her mouth hung open.

Then she just blurted it.

"I don't have anyone to sit with at lunch and my friend has it fourth period and there's just too many people and I don't have enough time to walk home and eat and come back and I hate school lunch." she exhaled a deep breath. It was all true, except for the bit about walking home. She didn't live far from the school and she had plenty of time to eat and do what she wanted there. But what else was she going to do? She had to make up some excuse as to why she was here. Perhaps if she made the pretty teacher sympathetic.

Ms. Mills looked at her, lips parted and eyes a bit larger than before. "E-Emma… I didn't know. If you had this problem, you could have stayed in here before."

"R-really?" Emma looked at her, pink slightly tinting her cheeks. God, she hoped Ms. Mills couldn't see that.

"Of course! I eat alone, anyways, as you see. I do quite enjoy the company from time to time." She offered a smile, soft and genuine. "To tell you the truth, I'm not much of a social person myself. That's why I don't go to the teacher's break room. I spend it in here."

"Oh?" Emma slightly frowned. She reached down and grabbed the paper bag out of her backpack before taking a daring move and scooted her chair the few feet next to Ms. Mills herself. The woman's scent was much stronger, a spicy perfume filled Emma's senses and, oh god, it was nice. It reminded her of apple cider. But then again, that just might be her own body spray that she virtually drowned herself in earlier.

Her eyes roamed over the desk before her. Seeing it close up like this was strange and she could see what that container had. Just a little bit of salad. Didn't seem like much. She sat back in her seat and opened up the bag to see what the hell Ruby had given her. She pulled out a tin-foiled wrapped item, and then another. With a blink, she peered inside the bag and giggled unexpectedly.

Of course Ruby would do that.

_I made you a grilled cheese, girl, and I put in an extra in case your girlfriend's hungry._

"What's so funny?" Ms. Mills looked up from her salad, brows knit together.

"N-Nothing. Just a note my friend gave me. She packed me a lunch, but it seems she gave me an extra sandwich." Emma stated nonchalantly, hoping that it sounded innocent. She stopped and looked over to her teacher. "Hey, is that all you have?"

"What? This salad?" She nodded, then shrugged, nibbling on a leaf. "I try to eat light. If I eat a heavy lunch, I get sick, and getting sick in the middle of class is not a good thing."

"Hm, I suppose not." Emma agreed, then bit her lip, eyes on the greens in the small container. "You should eat more than that…" she mumbled, half hoping that the brunette hadn't heard her.

"I thought you were my student?" The rich laugh that came from Ms. Mills' lips made Emma's heart rate speed up.

"Y-yeah… But…" she chewed on her lower lip and nudged the extra grilled cheese in front for Regina. "Eating very little isn't good, either. You could faint for lack of energy. It's happened to me before at one of my foster homes."

"Oh?" Ms. Mills' voice seemed to have taken a concern tone. Her brown eyes met with green as Emma looked up and nodded. She hadn't exactly meant to let that slip. It just felt so easy to talk with the brunette teacher for some reason. It felt so… right. Although, the entire thing was weird and she was starting to get dizzy over what was happened. Nothing, right now. Nothing was happening. They were just talking. A student to a teacher.

But Emma continued anyways. "Yes. Some of these foster homes… some of these 'families' just take theses foster kids in for a paycheck, you know? They barely keep us fed, because most of the money goes towards drugs than towards groceries for the house. We had to ration a lot in one of the houses. I lived in that place for about six years before one of the kids almost died from starvation. He was taken to the hospital from our school and everything was explained and those damned bastards got taken in. It took me a year or two before I got back on track to eating like a proper kid should." she paused and blushed, realizing that she had said something that she probably shouldn't have in front of a teacher. "Sorry for the language, Ms. Mills."

But that seemed to have been the least of Emma's teacher's concern. She just stared at Emma like she was seeing her in a whole different light. Her eyes sparkled with what the blonde assumed were tears. She frowned herself.

"So those stories, Emma, the ones you write…"

"Yeah, they're true." Emma looked to her lap, wondering how the hell they got into such a deep conversation about her past.

"Emma, if you ever need someone to talk with…" Ms. Mills had said softly, a hand reaching forward to grab Emma's own.

The blonde looked up, her entire arm was now tingling from the contact and nearly made her squirm. Oh, God, she hoped that Regina couldn't hear her heart beating, because that thing was going like a ticking time bomb.

She gazed at the teacher, deeply staring into those muddy pools. They were full of some sort of understanding. It was different. She wondered if she had experienced the same thing, because that wasn't pity in her eyes. Everyone else was usually so plastic with their emotions, telling her that they were sorry for what happened to her and that it should have never happened. That's just something they say to kids. But right now, she felt like she had some sort of crazy connection with her teacher over this painful subject. It wasn't something she liked to bring up and she never really told anyone else her stories.

It was so fucking weird how she felt with Ms. Mills. It was far too strange and the feeling in her stomach made it ache. She didn't know whether to puke or faint.

And then she did it, and for god only knows why, she leaned forward ever so slightly. It only close some of the distance between them and she wasn't sure if Ms. Mills had noticed or not, she just stay there with her eyes locked on Emma's. Funny, they seem to be darker than they were just moments ago.

Then that happened. The bell that indicated half the period went by, which would also alternate lunches, rang, startling the both of them. Ms. Mills blinked her eyes as the back of her rolling chair jerked and hit the desk, while Emma was now on the floor, squirming to grab her grilled cheese from under the teacher's desk.

"Crap. I hate that bell." she muttered, taking her seat once again as she finally retrieved her lunch. Emma then unwrapped it from the tinfoil and grinned. It still felt warm.

"You should eat the other one while it's still warm." she suggested to her teacher, who just stared blankly at the blonde.

Emma, too, stopped her motions and gazed at the brunette curiously. Okay, perhaps pretending whatever little moment that was didn't happen probably wasn't the best right now. Her teacher look conflicted between hitting herself or going nuts. Emma wasn't quite sure, but she shoved the extra grilled cheese into her hands.

"Look, I know… Okay… I dunno what the hell just happened. The bell rang and scared the sh- I mean _crap_ out of you. Don't look so shell shocked. It was just a bell." She danced around why the bell had exactly scared them, not sure if it would be best to bring up.

But, of course, Ms. Mills probably thought different, for she took the tinfoil clad grilled cheese and set it on her desk. Soon, dark eyes were staring intently at Emma, sharp and serious. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I guess." Emma shrugged, knowing very well that she probably would have kissed her teacher if not for the bell. But Ms. Mills did not need to know that. It was highly inappropriate. And she was still quite sure that the brunette didn't swing that way, either.

"I must just be…"

"You should eat that before it gets cold. Maybe it'll do you some good." Emma chanced, taking a generous bite out of her own sandwich. She watched as her teacher carefully opened the tinfoil and picked the grilled cheese out of its wrapping, then slowly brought it up to her mouth and took a bite.

"I hope you like grilled cheese. I never asked…" Emma bit her lip. "I-I mean. I don't want to force you to eat it. It was extra after all. I could have just eaten it myself or something-"

"It's delicious. Thank you for sharing it with me." Ms. Mills smiled carefully. "I must admit, though, that you're right. I should probably eat more than a salad."

"Why a salad?" The blonde's curiosity seemed to have gotten the better of her.

Regina's eyebrow quirked at her, chocolate orbs roaming over to the abandoned container. "I suppose it's just the quickest to throw together."

"You like sleep, too, huh?" Emma chuckled and took another bite. "I usually skip breakfast to sleep in late. But, today, I had to get up early _and_ skip breakfast to pick this up from Ruby."

"Ruby?"

"Yeah. Ruby Lucas. She graduated last year. I think she took your class before, or so she told me." Emma shrugged and stuffed the rest of her grilled cheese into her mouth.

"Oh, yes, Ms. Lucas. I remember her. She was quite the disturbance."

The teen laughed. "Really? I mean, I guess that sounds like her. But, damn, she makes one hell of a grilled cheese, right?"

"Why would she make you lunch?"

"Oh. I thought you knew that she worked at her grandmother's cafe. She offered to make me lunch because… Uh… Yeah, she offered to make me lunches so I didn't have to walk all the way there." Emma shrugged nonchalantly, kicking herself mentally for that. She almost blew her goddamn cover. Hopefully Ms. Mills wouldn't feel inclined to ask more questions.

"Send her my regards. She makes a lovely grilled cheese." The brunette smiled and the blonde nearly sighed with relief.

"Maybe I can have her make an extra, like, everyday?" The words were out of Emma's mouth before she realized and as soon as she _had_ realized it, her jaw was wired shut.

The words had caught Ms. Mills by surprise and she swore she saw something like appreciation in her eyes and this look as if it were all so foreign to her. And, oh God, that faint little smile on her lips.

"Would you really do that?"

"Yeah. Then you wouldn't have to worry about getting up those extra five minutes to throw rabbit food into a plastic container." she dared to further the conversation, nodding tightly. "And it's no bother for me to get up ten minutes early to pick this up."

"You don't really have to, you do know this? It's not really appropriate."

"Oh, come on, Ms. Mills. It's just lunch." Emma bit her lip and squished the aluminum foil into a ball before depositing it into the brown paper bag. "Look, I mean, I don't have to stay in here. It's fine, really. I could eat somewhere else. Outside isn't too bad or the hallway or something maybe."

Then she saw it. A flicker of disappointment in Ms. Mills' eyes. A look of loneliness, which appeared to not be so foreign to the brunette teacher. And right then and there, Emma wanted to kick herself. She already fucked up the first day and there might not be a second.

"As you wish. It would probably be for the best."  
"Unless you want me to be in here." Emma whispered softly and waited for some sort of negative comment.

But she was taken by surprise by what Ms. Mills had said next. "It's nice to have the company."

"Oh?"

"Look, Emma. You feel free to do what you wish. If you decide that you do not want to eat in here, that's fine. I do not mind. If you do wish to, I will not be opposed." Her words were simple, but they made Emma turn to putty. Oh, God, this woman. She was dancing around her feelings. She wanted so bad for the company, but didn't want to seem desperate about it. She didn't want to admit that she wanted someone there to eat lunch with, even if it were to be in companionable silence.

"Then I'll stay tomorrow and I may or may not have an extra grilled cheese again." Emma simply stated, trying to sate a smile from spreading across her lips.

"If you feel so inclined to." Ms. Mills gave her a short nod, although the slight tilt of her lips gave her away. "You'll probably want to get packed up. The bell is about to ring."

Emma immediately turned her head to look at the clock above the door and, shit, she was right. There was less than one minute until the bell rang and her next class was clear across the school. Of course, it would be simple to get there, but the amount of students in the hallway always blocked her path and made the trip much longer than it really needed to be.

"Yeah. I ought to… Uh, see you tomorrow, Ms. Mills." The blonde gave her a small smile as she flung her backpack over her shoulder and replaced the chair that she had moved. She then quickly collected the garbage from their lunch and threw it into the bin on her way out.

"Have a good day, Emma."

"You too!"

And boy, she would have a good day after having lunch with her now dubbed favorite teacher. The rest of the day would be dedicated to that one hour that she had with her and thoughts about what they were going to do tomorrow. She knew she was smiling like an idiot to herself and she just couldn't help it. There was no stopping her elated mood, and little did she know, that Ms. Mills had wore the same smile on her lips as soon as Emma had wished her a good day.

Emma just made it to her government class as the bell rang. Belle looked up from her desk as the door clicked shut and Mr. Glass quirked a brow.  
"Right in the nick of time, Emma." he clucked his tongue. "Have a seat. We're going to get started."

Emma nodded and quickly headed to her spot next to Belle, whom had immediately started to berate her with whispered questions. One of which was asking where she had been.

"I had lunch in my fourth period class." she said, a proud smirk on her lips.

"You actually took Ruby's advice?" Belle's eyebrows rose and she pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. "Seriously? How did it go?"

Emma shrugged and exhaled. "Ruby gave me an extra grilled cheese and she put a note in the bag, telling me that she made it for my 'girlfriend.'" With that memory, the blonde rolled her eyes.

"Really?" Her brunette friend laughed. "What did you do?"

"I offered Ms. Mills the grilled cheese and she ate it. Did you know all she eats is this tiny little salad?" Emma shook her head.

Belle just looked astonished. "You got her to eat more than that salad?"

"Yeah? So?"  
"Holy crap, Em."

"What's the big deal?"

"Everyone figures she's a health nut since all she does eat is that and some apple. We've never seen her with anything else. Maybe a cookie or two, but that's it." The bookworm shook her head and chuckled, shoving Emma playfully with her shoulder.

"She told me that she just doesn't have enough time in the morning to make anything else. I asked her." she smirked, proud of herself for getting that kind of information from the infamous teacher.

"Really? Christ. The one time someone _did_ question her it had been one of the years she had a fourth period lunch and taught fifth. She was still picking at the salad and someone asked her about it. She just said she liked them and they were the healthiest thing." Belle explained, eyeing Emma with a knowing smirk.

And at that moment, Emma felt like she accomplished the impossible. "Well, I got her to eat grilled cheese and I'm gonna bring more extras tomorrow and I don't think she minds."

Belle blinked. "Really? Are you sure that you're conversing with _the_ Ms. Mills or some impostor? Because she does _not_, like, _ever_, open up or whatever like that. She eats alone for a reason. Everyone's afraid of her, I think."

"Yeah, it's the right one." The blonde grinned smugly. "And about that. She said that she only eats alone because she's not really social or something. So, like, it's her choice. But she likes my company."

"She _likes_ your company?"

"God, don't act so surprised..." she grumbled softly. "But, yes, she even said so herself. That's why she let me stay, I'm pretty sure. She's lonely." Emma frowned, then paused and looked at Belle. "Does she have a boyfriend or something?"

"I don't know." Belle shrugged, froze, then shot Emma a smirk. "Are you going to try to go down that path or something?"

"I might be able to eventually drag it out of her." Emma nodded. "I came up with a half-bullshit story that I don't have anywhere to eat lunch and no one to sit with, she felt like shit and let me stay."

"You're definitely not dining with the right Ms. Mills. I mean, that woman is a tough hardass." Belle was in a state of disbelief now, unable to comprehend what her friend was telling her. Emma was quite sure that she broke through some sort of exterior shell on her teacher that no one ever dared to crack.

"You're lucky, Em."

"Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want them making fun of me or anything. I mean… I probably look like a teacher's pet or something, just staying in there like that. I'm pretty sure some of my classmates think that." she pouted slightly.

"Can Ruby be an exception?" Belle pleaded, bouncing slightly in her seat.

"You tell her everything anyways." Emma glared at her friend, remembering the first day of school when the brunette had blurted out Emma's little crush on Ms. Mills.

"Good." Belle smirked and wrote something down into her notebook. "We have an assignment."

"What?"

"That's what that is. You were distracted by your regal bitch again."

"Shut up, Belle." Emma huffed and wrote down the assignment as well, given barely enough time before the bell rang, dismissing class. "Hey, what're we doing in art today?"

"I think we're doing something with letters or words or whatever. Being creative with them." Belle explained as the two friends walked out of the government room. "I think it's your name, but I'm sure you can choose a random word, too."

"Oh…" Emma grinned to herself, an idea popping into her head. "Thanks."

"Uh, you're welcome?"

"Yeah, yeah…" And then Emma nearly sprinted to her next period class, leaving a Belle to chase behind her.


	4. Lunch Attempt 2

**A/N: Thank you so much, once again, for your positive feedback! And I would like to thank you for a few suggestions that, let me tell you, I could very well use. I'm a bit clunky and awkward trying to write out all the personalities and keep them to how they are in the show that I do tend to leave some things out. I _can_ see Emma as keeping to herself, but I think I got her a little too excited about getting attention from her teacher that she tended to just blurt it out. That would probably change further on.**

**On another note, I _do_ have a lot of this pre-written, and I'm just reviewing chunks for each chapter. Depending upon how much you would like to read about Regina and Emma talking and progressing with their relationship during lunches, I can (and will if you want) write more of their happyfriendtimes. **

**I am open to your critique. I can always edit before posting to add/delete things you may want, or not like. After all, you are the readers and you help me mold the story to its potential. Thank you and I do hope you enjoy reading! Reviews are welcome any time. :)**

* * *

"I made art." Emma pulled her backpack over with her as she scooted her chair next to Ms. Mills' desk once again.

It was Friday, fifth period, and as promised Emma had brought the extra grilled cheese with her to give to Ms. Mills as she stayed after class once again without an excuse of trying to finish her paper.

The previous day in art class, they had worked on making words creative. Of course, she chose Ms. Mills' name and used the best of her artistic ability to perfect it. Each loop of words and each vine constricting them together made Emma proud of her work and she hoped that her teacher would like it, considering that she had made it just for her.

"You made art? Congratulations, Emma." Regina chuckled softly and carefully unwrapped the grilled cheese, muttering a 'thank you' before taking a bite of it.

"Yeah. In art class yesterday. I made something for you." The blonde teen smiled proudly, pulling out a thick piece of parchment to hand to the brunette. On it were the letters that made up _Ms. Mills_ and below that, in the bottom right corner was Emma's signature of _E. Swan_.

"Oh, wow, Emma… This is really, _really_, good. You're as talented in art as you are in writing." She smiled and moved to hand it back, but Emma shook her head.

"No, I want you to keep it."

"Thank you," the brunette's appreciative smile was wide and white, reaching her eyes. "I should hang this up on my wall of student art."

"You have a wall?" Emma blinked, a sting of jealousy wringing through her at that thought. She wanted it to be special, but if it were to just hang up next to other artworks…

"I believe the question you are looking for is if I have other students' art. And the answer is, no." Ms. Mills' smile faded somewhat as she brought out a tack to place the new artwork on a poster board on the wall by her desk. The only other items tacked to the board were a calender and a paper that stated the school day schedule.

"No one's ever made you anything? I thought people did that?"

"For their favorite teachers. And, dear, let me tell you that I am no one's favorite." she rolled her chair back in place, eyes now locked on the partially eaten grilled cheese on her desk. Emma had noticed the tone that she had taken to her tone. Dear God, these students were assholes.

"Why… why would you say that?"

"Obviously I am not deaf, Emma." Ms. Mills still hadn't taken her eyes away from the sandwich. "I do realize that I can be a bitch at times. I know that I don't exactly give everyone a good grade, but I'm not just going to let them get easy grades. You have to work for it. But they do not understand that and so my class gains a bad reputation." she sighed softly. "I might as well put a sign on my door warning to turn back now because this teacher sucks, since that is what I hear these students say. As you may have noticed, the class number dropped dramatically after the first day. After they realized who they had."

"You can't be so sure. Maybe they didn't want to take this class. I should know. We just wanna take ones that promise easy grades so we have a smooth year." Emma shrugged, frowning at the way Ms. Mills' voice had dropped incredibly now, as if she were afraid to speak her thoughts. It just made Emma's heart sink. It wasn't really her business to snoop around in her teacher's feelings and personal life, but goddamn, she really wanted to put a beat down on these students that made Regina feel like shit.

"No," Emma barely heard the negative comment. She leaned forward as Ms. Mills began to speak once again.

"Mr. Booth's creative writing class grew. During the first meeting, he had to give up his planning period to add in another class. My students transferred, Emma."

"But we aren't allowed to switch teachers?" Emma furrowed her brows, wondering how the hell they would have done that. As far as she knew, the rules were still intact.

"Oh, Emma dear. They have their ways. Mr. Hopper is a pushover and when students come to him demanding they get a different teacher because they don't want to fail, well…" She chuckled darkly.

"Fuck," she mumbled.

"Language, Miss Swan, or have you forgotten that you're speaking with a teacher?" Ms. Mills quirked a brow, but the menace seemed to have dissipated from it.

"Sorry…"

"It's quite alright. I must apologize for telling you this. I shouldn't pour my grievances on my students." She offered a tight, plastic smile before going back to her grilled cheese, making a mild look of distaste when she had found it cold.

Emma had long finished her own sandwich, so instead, she just watched Ms. Mills, thoughts running through her mind. What the hell did the people in this school take her for? They were so disrespectful, especially if they allowed a minor schedule change just to switch teachers because they were too scared of a little challenge. The teachers around this place didn't seem so enthused to come to her defense, either. Emma wasn't too certain on those thoughts, though, since she didn't know exactly everything. But by what she conceived, she expected that they only came to Ms. Mills with their own grievance of not having enough room in their classes because of transfers and blame it all on her for being a horrible teacher.

Emma, of course, being herself and having this pull towards the woman, didn't see how she was such a horrible teacher and, in fact, she was the best one that she had. The woman can, sure, be a hardass in the classroom at times, but she was just doing her job when she graded assignments. It wasn't her fault that the incompetents taking her class didn't know how to properly write or were too lazy to revise their papers before turning them in.

"It's fine, honestly." Emma shrugged and played with a blonde lock that fell in front of her face.

"It's not, Emma. I've just…" Ms. Mills furrowed those perfectly sculpted eyebrows. "I've never opened up so much before to someone. I… I suppose it's just because I haven't spoken with someone for more than five minutes."

"I understand what you mean, actually." Emma confided carefully. "I was like that with very few people. One time, I was really young, so I didn't really understand that some things should just be left unsaid- I mean, I'm not telling you to not say anything, but... But, uh, yeah… I understand how you feel. Sometimes there's just someone that you can click with. That happened with Ruby and Belle when I first met them. It took awhile, actually. Well, not _too_ long… I just mean, that… you know, you can just click and it becomes easy to talk with someone after knowing that they could be a potential good friend. I thought that you'd have more friends? I mean… Usually teachers are friends with each other being coworkers and all."

"Barely," Ms. Mills chuckled and shook her head, then paused. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but you're just so easy to talk to."

"I know. I mean, I _don't_ know, but I _do_."

"What the hell are you talking about, Ms. Swan?"

Emma smirked and shook her head, completely losing her train of thought now. "I know how you feel, that it's just so easy to talk, because that's how I feel with you. Maybe it's because I'm afraid of losing my friends and I just don't want to talk about the deep, personal stuff that I usually don't ship out for free. It's… it's not that I don't care what you think of me- because I do. I really do… And… Oh, god, I probably shouldn't have said that."

"I know what you mean, Emma. You want to confide in someone, but you're just unsure of who. I'm here and I'm willing to listen and… I really am, dear. I don't want you to think that I'm not. I do quite enjoy the company and, by your writing…"

"Yeah," Emma mumbled and bit her lip, cutting her off. "Thank you. I appreciate it. I just can't talk to Mary Margaret or David about it… I don't really think they'd wanna hear about it anyways. I mean, I guess, I don't really know if _you_ want to hear about it."

"I don't mind, Emma." Ms. Mills smiled softly. "You're a bright girl and I don't want you to burden yourself with all of these bottled up emotions. It's not good and it can really put a damper on your life."

"And you," Emma suddenly said, breaking the eye contact that they had seemed to have connected themselves moments ago. "If you feel obliged to tell of your feelings, please, do. I don't mind and, trust me, I won't use anything against you. I know how it feels keeping things on the inside and I can only imagine what you have hidden underneath all those layers of regal bitchiness."

"Regal bitchiness?" Brows rose now at the new term.

"My friend, Belle, she always says something like that. She took your class, I think last year? Belle French?" Emma tilted her head and smiled. "She means no harm. She liked you, but she was just a bit flabbergasted about receiving a B. She's a damned bookworm."

"Ms. French. I remember her. She was one of my more dedicated students. I quite enjoyed her writing." Ms. Mills nodded slightly and shuffled through a stack of assignments on her desk.

"Yeah. She's pretty damned good, but she says I'm better. I don't think so." Emma wrinkled her nose slightly, remembering the compliment that her friend had told her earlier on in the year. "I take art with her, too. She's so much better at it than I am."

"That's unbelievable." Ms. Mills quirked a brow, her chocolate orbs sliding over to the piece of art that Emma had given her when lunch had started. "You're pretty damned good as far as I can see."

"She's fifty thousand times better." Emma shrugged nonchalantly. "Say, we're going to be starting to draw portraits in a week or two and I still need a picture. Uh..." she paused, snapping her mouth shut. What the hell was she doing?

"You are? Who are you going to use, or is it a self portrait?"

"I wanted…" Emma blushed slightly and sat back in her seat. " I wanted to draw you."

That took her by surprise. Ms. Mills' eyes widened slightly and Emma thought she just looked so adorable with those lips slightly parted in surprise.

"Really?"

"I mean, if you'd let me. I still have to snap a picture and a candid one probably wouldn't work." Emma shrugged slightly and continued to blush. "I mean… If it makes you feel uncomfortable…"

"I-It's fine. You just… took me by surprise, is all." Then the corners of her mouth turned upward, the smile on her lips stealing the air right from Emma's lungs.

"So you don't mind if I take your picture and draw that pr-.. Your face?" Emma cleared her throat, trying to recover from the slip that she had nearly made.

"Go right ahead, dear." Ms. Mills chuckled and watched as Emma pulled out her cell phone, then took a few steps away.

"Alright. Smile!"

And she did. And,_ oh god,_ that smile just killed Emma. She nearly dropped her phone right there as she felt her entire body just go _weak_. Swallowing thickly, she nodded and squeaked out a strained, "that's good," because that's all she could manage without looking like a damned fool. That woman was nearly smirking. Her eyes were sparkling with an almost devious shine and, _fuck_, that smile was all too genuine.

Emma snapped the scene in front of her, a flash from her phone and a blinking teacher later, the blonde stared at the memory forever captured into the cellular device.

"Got it," she whispered.

"I didn't blink, did I?"

"No, you're perfect." Emma smiled, but it immediately dropped as soon as she realized what she had said. "I mean, it's perfect. See?" Then she held the phone up for Ms. Mills to take a peek at the picture.

"I look like a zombie." she joked with a tsk.

Emma smiled in amusement because, no, she didn't look like a zombie, and yes, she was perfect. Soon Emma had slipped the phone back into her pocket and muttered her gratitude.

"Hey, Ms. Mills?"

"Yes, Emma?"

"What time is it?" The blonde furrowed her brows at the clock above the door, surprised that it had appeared way past the time fifth period would have been over. If the clock wasn't lying, it would be the middle of sixth period now and, fuck, she was missing it. And how the hell hadn't she heard the bell? And why the hell was the class empty, considering it was sixth period.

"It's about two-" then her own eyes widened. "It's sixth period."

"Government. I'm missing it." Emma frowned, not exactly caring that she was missing that class. All Mr. Glass did was drone on about words that appeared on the smartboard in a powerpoint, then allow them the rest of the time to do a "study" in which everyone just talked with each other. It wasn't much of a class to miss since she never paid any attention half the time and the notes were online, which she could easily access at home.

"I'll write you out a pass." Ms. Mills immediately responded, grabbing the little pad that sat on the corner of her desk. "You said Government, correct?"

"It's pointless to go," she shrugged. "I mean, I missed half the class and we usually just go over notes in that amount of time and do nothing after. By the time I get there, that's where they'll be."

Maybe if she could just convince her…

"You do have to go to class, Emma. The office will call your parents if you skip."

"I'm not skipping. And they're pretty understanding. All I have to say is that I was talking to you." Emma shrugged and played with a piece of her golden locks. "Why can't I just stay? It doesn't look like you have a class."

"It's my… planning period." Ms. Mills' voice was gruff as she pushed the pad away from her.

Then it hit Emma. She had probably lost so many students that she had an open period that wasn't there before. Maybe that's why she didn't mind the company for lunch. She was alone for two hours.

"Planning period?" Emma quirked a brow. "Look, I've been here for half the class, just let me stay. I'll be good and go to gov on Monday."

"Only this once, Emma." The brunette's lips twitched, despite the struggle of keeping that smile from coming.

"Thank you!"

"Not so fast." She chuckled.

"Sorry. Mr. Glass is just…" Emma shook her head and sighed, slumping back into her seat. She didn't know how to describe that man. He looked as if he didn't want to be there half the time, and that was probably why he usually only talked about notes on the board before going to his desk in the back corner.

"You have Mr. Glass?" Ms. Mills' eyes were quite large, and frighteningly so. Emma swore they were going to pop out of her skull.

"Yeah?"

"I can tell him that you're here. He'll mark you present." she rolled her chair over to the computer on the far corner of her desk, then picked up the phone that sat next to it. She dialed a few keys and waited, receiver up to her ear.

And Emma wondered what the hell that was about.

"Hello, Sydney? ...Yes, this is Regina. I have a student of yours here with me… Yes. Emma Swan… Nolan." The brunette had this devious smirk on her lips and they looked just so evil, Emma couldn't help but to whimper softly at this new side. She had not one clue what kind of relationship was going on between the two and, oh god, she hoped that they weren't dating because that would confirm her fears. And fuck. Emma didn't know if she could handle the truth.

She broke from her thoughts as the brunette teacher spoke into the phone, her voice sharp, unlike it had been when speaking with Emma.

"I would appreciate if you were to mark her present for your class… Yes, she won't be going back. Wh… If you feel so inclined to…. Yes, I will. Thank you. Goodbye." Then the receiver was back into its cradle as Ms. Mills rolled her chair back to Emma once again.

"I shouldn't tell you this, but I will anyways. He said he would mark you present, even if you aren't in the class. Of course, the exception being you have a sick day."

"Seriously?" Emma gawked at the new information. What the hell kind of control did she have over that man? They must be dating if she was able to so easily convince the man to do _that_.

"Yes. Seriously." Ms. Mills smirked and it looked so proud.

"Is that an invitation to stay during sixth period, now?"

"No."

"Aw…" Emma whined softly, but the smile on her face gave her away.

"You still have to go to class despite the attendance record. You must pass that class in order to graduate, as I'm sure you know. Do not take advantage of this." She warned, arms crossing tightly over the black sweater she wore.

The blonde nodded, her fingers drumming mindlessly on her thighs. "I won't. I promise I won't."

"Good." Regina nodded and shuffled through the papers on her desk. Emma loved how the woman trusted her _that_ much.

And then the words just spilled from Emma's mouth like verbal diarrhea and, _oh god_, she wished her mind was faster than her mouth. And was she glad that the two of them had become something similar to friends because she was sure if she were to ask that question to any other teacher, she'd be sent down to Mr. Gold's office with a detention slip.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

"Pardon?"

"Like, are you two dating? I mean… You seemed-"

And then she's laughing.  
And, holy shit, it's so rich and melodical. Emma swore if she could record Ms. Mills laughing and play it back on repeat, she would never tire of it.

"No, dear. He seems to be infatuated with me for some odd reason. It's all unrequited."

She said _that_.  
It was like she was worried to let Emma think she had this infatuation with Mr. Glass right back. But then she said that.

"Don't tell anyone, though. Although, I'm quite sure that most know… so I suppose it wouldn't exactly mattered." She quickly butted into Emma's thoughts. "I don't want the students to tease him about this. It's probably hard enough since I… laughed in his face…" she frowned, a look of guilt on her face, but it only lasted a moment before her visage turned to stone.

"I won't. Trust me." Emma said, her tone so light and airy, she hoped that wouldn't give her away.

"Thank you." Ms. Mills exhaled a breath that Emma was sure she didn't know she had been holding. "Keep this confidential. He's doing you a favor."

"And so are you. You're keeping me from his boring class. I don't want to sound like a bitch- pardon- or anything, but, it's like he doesn't want to be there."

"He probably doesn't." And that's all she said on the subject before nudging away from the topic. "You should probably get ready. The bell's about to ring and I know how far the art hall is from here." Ms. Mills flashed her that winning smile once again before standing up, her dark beige slacks tightening around her thighs as she did so. "I can give you a hall pass so you're able to get there faster."

"Thanks," Emma stood as well with her backpack, grunting at the weight of it. She quickly took the small pass that the teacher had given her and flashed a smile. "Thanks."

"You already said that, dear." Regina chuckled melodically and followed Emma towards the door. "Go on before the bell rings. It's sixth, there's going to be a large crowd around here, soon." She urged, a gentle hand touching Emma's shoulder.

She was sure that Ms. Mills had felt the shiver coursing through her body from that one touch, and god, she hoped that it would be passed off as a cold shiver. It _was_ rather drafty…

"Have a good day, Emma. I'll see you on Monday."

"Thanks. See you." Emma nodded and that smile, just like yesterday, could not be helped as she walked out the door and into the desolate hall. But she stopped, turned, and looked over to Regina who was now standing outside the door, holding it open against the wall. She shot her a confused looked, but Emma merely smiled wider and waved.

"Have a good weekend, Ms. Mills." Then she shot off as the bell rang. Damn, she wasn't going to beat the traffic in the hallway. But she didn't mind so much. The genuinely happy, and yet surprised, smile on the English teacher's face just made her day.

* * *

"Where the hell were you?" Belle immediately confronted Emma as the blonde took her spot in the art room. "Mr. Glass was boring as hell and I had no one to talk to."

"Sorry." Emma mumbled, a soft giggle slipping from her lips. "I didn't hear the bell ring and I ended up staying in Ms. Mills' room halfway through the period."

"Did she call Mr. Glass?"

"Yeah."  
Belle smirked. "I knew it! I heard him say your name, but it was so quiet, because everyone else was talking. He said he'd mark you present?"

"Ms. Mills convinced him to, I guess." Emma smirked, knowing just why that was.

"'Cause he has this crush on her." Belle voiced her friend's thoughts.

"Wh-.. How did you know?"

"Everyone knows, but they don't say anything. I mean, I don't think _everyone_. But the people who have seen those two talk to each other, it's clear. He'd do anything she says."

"She doesn't like him back." The blonde blurted.

Belle chuckled and took out her sketch book as the bell sounded, indicating the start of class. She nudged Emma knowingly. "Yeah, I know."

"Of course you did…" The blonde mumbled, doing the same with her own sketch book. She opened it to where they had left off yesterday, practicing small objects and scenes using the grid method.

"Oh, Em," the voice beside her suddenly spoke. "Did you get a picture?"

"Yeah."

"She let you do it?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me about it!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Belle. Shut up."

"No. Tell me."

"Why?"

"I wanna know her reaction."

"Belle."

"Come on…"

"Shut up."

"Please."

"No."

"If you tell me, I'll shut up."

"... fine." Emma groaned and glared at her friend's persistence. Why the hell was Belle so nosey? She wished Ruby were here sometimes, just so the little brunette would shut her mouth. With a shake of her head, she whispered. "She was surprised, but she didn't mind."

"Surprised?" Belled tilted her head, pausing her work. "How so?"

"I don't know." The blonde shrugged and pulled her phone out, hiding it underneath the table. She nudged Belle with her leg and smirked, the picture of Ms. Mills on her phone showed up.

"I've never seen her smile like that."

"It's probably her photo smile." Emma shrugged. "She knew I was drawing her."

"I would need you to put your phone away, Emma." The teacher, Ms. Boyd, had spoke as she passed by the two friends' table.

"Sorry, Ms. Boyd…" Emma mumbled and quickly shoved the device back into her pocket. It wasn't until the blonde teacher had glided away that she backhanded her laughing friend's arm.

"Shut up."

"I bet you're going to have that as your background by the end of the semester."

"No I won't."

"Okay…" Belle drew the word out, a knowing smirk on her lips.

"I hate you," Emma muttered, going back to their assignment.  
Belle chuckled and mewled quietly before doing the same. "No you don't."

* * *

"She has her picture!" Belle squealed, running over to the counter where Ruby was currently waitressing an older gentleman. The lanky brunette looked up, dark eyes widening in surprise at her friend's sudden outburst. Then she smirked, knowing who and what she was speaking of.

Emma had trudged in behind Belle, grumbling about how many ways she could kill and dispose of both her friends.

"Look at sourpuss over there." Ruby puffed out her lower lip to mock the blonde as she slid onto one of the stools. "Come on, Em, lighten up!" the waitress slid a mug of cinnamon hot cocoa in front of her and an iced tea in front of Belle who had occupied the spot next to the blonde.

"Shut up, guys." She grumbled and turned to Belle. "I told you not to tell her."

"I will as you tell me about this picture on your phone." Ruby smirked as Emma's other brunette friend just shrugged.

"It's for an art project."

"Sure it is."

"It actually is…" Belle giggled. "The only reason why I know who it was going to be, and is, is because she sits right next to me."

Emma shot her a glare, then looked up to Ruby who quirked a brow. "I'm drawing her. She agreed to let me use her face."

"Uh huh…" Ruby licked her lips and bent over onto her elbows. "Did she like the grilled cheese?"

"It was cold." Emma muttered.

"Oh, shut up!" She swatted the blonde with a dish towel, only to roll her eyes when someone called for her. "I'll be back. Tell me the juicy gossip when I get back."

"You two are driving me crazy. Ever since I told you…" Emma shook her head. "Why are you always teasing me about it?"

"We aren't." Belle frowned. "I thought you were taking it better than this."

Emma shook the hand off her shoulder and played with the steaming mug of cocoa in front of her. "Well, I'm not! I shouldn't have told you. This is why I don't share my goddamned feelings."  
"Whoa! What the hell did you do?" Ruby rose both her hands in the air defensively as she headed back over to her friends. "What's up, blondie?"

"You guys! You're just constantly teasing me about having a crush on my teacher and you just won't stop! I feel like shit when you keep going…"

"Look, girl, we don't mean any harm." Ruby donned the same frown as Belle. She took the stool next to Emma and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "You've never had a crush, or at least told us about it, before. We do this, you know? Tease each other when we have crushes."

"Yeah, but you just keep _pushing_ me towards her like something's going to happen. It's not." Emma finally muttered, glaring coldly at the cocoa as if it were the enemy.

"We just thought this was what you wanted. We're supporting your efforts, Emma. I mean… I've never seen you so into someone before." Ruby continued, her voice light and sympathetic. "We can back off if that's what you want?"

"It'd be nice." Emma lay her head into her crossed arms.

"Are you still going to have lunch with her?" Belle asked softly.

It took Emma a moment to answer that question. She wasn't sure if she should, anymore. It was pointless. She initially had lunch with Ms. Mills because she wanted to get her chance. But now, she wasn't so sure. It was futile to try what she wanted and it was tiring the way her friends were so optimistic about it. This woman was twenty years older than herself and she clearly was not interested.

But on the other hand, Emma couldn't just leave Ms. Mills alone for lunch without a good reason. The two clicked in a way that was right and didn't make anything uncomfortable. The English teacher would make a good friend, or what was considered a friend between a student and a teacher. So she answered honestly.

"Yes."  
"You are?" Ruby raised her brows. She must have been expecting Emma to say no.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah. I can't just leave her alone for lunch. That's mean. Anyways, she's still pretty neat, even if I can't get further."

"Have you given up so soon?" Belle asked quietly.

Then Emma stared at her.  
"I don't know." she answered honestly, and yeah, she didn't know. She could still try, but for now, that wouldn't be her main goal. She would just spend time with Ms. Mills and be the person that she would talk to. It would be nice, she told herself.

"Ruby! Get your ass back to work and stop gossiping!" Granny shouted from across the diner upon spotting her granddaughter.

"Give me a sec!" Ruby whined and turned back to Emma as she slipped from the seat. A hand found its way on her back. "Don't give up," she whispered before heading off to resume her work.

"I'd drink to that." Emma playfully lifted her mug, bumping it with Belle's glass before downing the lukewarm cocoa. Her phone buzzed just as she set the mug down, causing her to groan and pull it out.

"It's Mary Margaret. I have to go."

"Oh, alright." Belle nodded and wrapped an arm around her friend. "Talk to you later?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded and paid for her drink before heading out of the diner, thumb roving over her phone as she replied back to her foster mother.

* * *

**A/N: I received a question that I would like to address, since I cannot reply to it directly.**

**"Is there a reason she was listed as Mrs. Mills in the first chapter?"**

**It was a sort of misprint on Emma's schedule and it was to add to her anxiety about going to the class. I *might* address it later on in the story.**


	5. Come Monday

**A/N: I would like to thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate it! **

**Fist off, I would like to address a few reviews that I _have_ read about the art projects and how odd they might be. Yeah, I hadn't really thought about that at first. But after a couple pointed it out, I realized that it was weird that she would do do that and it would raise suspicion from the art teacher. SOOO, I have addressed this problem in one of the upcoming chapters (I believe it'll be the next one) so it doesn't seem _so_ creepy-like. As for the portrait and the whole "that's a teacher" from her art teacher, eh, I'm using the excuse that Ms. Boyd doesn't exactly know who Ms. Mills is. She's new after all and it's not uncommon.**

**On that note, here's another chapter for you! I do hope you enjoy and please, tell me what you think!**

* * *

The upcoming weekend was agonizing. For the first time in _years_, Emma Swan just wanted to get back to school. That goddamn brunette teacher was in her thoughts for the majority of the weekend and she couldn't wait to see that woman's smiling face in person instead of just staring at her cell phone for hours on end.

David had caught her staring at the small screen for an hour straight as they were sitting down to watch one of their favorite television programs on Friday night. Of course, Emma figured he would confront her once again about texting and staring at that screen for too long, and that she usually left that damn device in her bedroom during this time. She feared for a few minutes as he loomed over her, the cell screen now black. Oh god, she hoped he wouldn't take her phone. Because, fuck, she had Ms. Mills' picture on there. And there was no way to exit away from it. It was inevitable.

Belle would be laughing her ass off right now, she was sure, because Emma couldn't last more than five minutes after returning home to change her background screen. Sure, it was creepy and a bit stalkerish, but she just couldn't help it. That woman was so dazzling and perfect, and it just made her phone so _priceless_. Anyways, it was only for the weekend so she didn't have to keep entering her pictures to try to find just this one.

And now David had her phone in his hand, but not once pressing the button to wake it up. Emma was silently screaming profanity in her head, hoping to whatever higher being that he won't try to snoop through her phone. Because as soon as he would turn it on, he would see the screen. And the screen was nothing but the smiling face of her creative writing teacher with those large, brown eyes, and those perfect, plump red lips. He would either ask who the hell that was or know immediately if he had become acquainted with her. This was a smaller town, after all. Mostly everyone knew each other. Mostly. So there would still be a slim chance he didn't know who that was, but goddamn, he would probably still wonder why the hell his teenage daughter had a picture of a middle-aged woman as her background.

He'd probably have a brain aneurysm over the fact and collapse on the floor in a twitching mess. Let's just hope he never dared to snoop through the device.

But he didn't. He just held it in his hand and gave her a stern look- or at least tried to. He never really mastered that yet.

"Emma, what have I told you about spending too much time on your phone? You could go blind from looking at this thing." he threatened, shaking Emma's phone in the air.

The blonde just watched his hand, glued to the black smartphone in it. "Sorry…" she mumbled. "Graham was texting and I haven't heard from him in a while. He'll be coming down in a couple months as soon as he buys that car."

And that wasn't entirely a lie. Because, yeah, she had been texting Graham, but that was an hour ago, and yes, he would be coming down in a couple of months. And then, as if to support her explanation, the phone buzzed.

"See?"

"Well," he sighed and gave in, handing the phone back to his daughter. "Just don't stay on it for too long. Mary Margaret will be back soon with dinner and you know how she doesn't like technology at the table."

"I know." Emma sighed, swiping her finger over the screen to check the message.

"I'm going to the bathroom." He announced, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of her head.

And that just made Emma look at him, her nose scrunched in distaste. "Thanks for the knowledge…"

David chuckled and waltzed towards the only other door in the apartment, leaving Emma alone to her phone once again. She finally took the time to see the message that Graham had sent her and nearly lost her shit.

Fucking Belle.

This was going to be a long, long weekend.

_"So, I talked to Belle. She seemed to have this little idea that you have the hots for the English teacher? ;)"_

* * *

By the time that Monday had finally rolled around, Emma could cry. She was dressed and groomed in record time that morning. Mary Margaret was surprised when she saw Emma climbing down the stairs a whole twenty minutes before she usually would.

"Emma! You're up early." The brunette smiled and set her mug down. "Would you like me to make you breakfast?"

"You don't have to," Emma shrugged, not missing the sad look in her foster-mother's eyes. She slumped her shoulders and took her seat at the counter. "Okay."

"Great! Does pancakes sound good?" she didn't give the blonde enough time to answer before she grabbed a frying pan from its spot and a box of pancake mix. "What's got you up so early?"

Emma watched the short-haired brunette bounce around the kitchen happily and it just made her heart expand in her chest. She never had a foster parent that wanted to cook breakfast for her, and so adamantly as well. Part of Emma felt that she didn't give enough appreciation to Mary Margaret. She felt she needed to show her more, though, to show how much she really did appreciate all of what the brunette did for her.

"No reason, really. I was gonna go pick up lunch from Ruby again." Emma smiled when her mother looked over to her.

Then she asked, "Don't you usually go later, though?"

"Yeah. I guess I…" Emma shrugged. She didn't want to tell the woman that she was just so excited to get the day started just to see Ms. Mills again. "I wanted breakfast, today. I know I haven't really been the best daughter, but I appreciate what you do for me." she said, and it was true, she genuinely meant those words.

The smile that it earned melted Emma's heart. She was glad she could make someone feel happy like that, and it was worth it for all that said person had done to make she, herself, happy. "Don't say that! You _are_ a good daughter. You're just a teenager and I know they tend to forget to thank their parents."

"Yeah," she chuckled and licked her lips as the freshly made plate of pancakes had gotten sat in front of her. "Thanks, Mary Margaret." And with that, she shoved a forkful of the food into her mouth.

"You're welcome, Emma!" Mary Margaret smiled widely and moved forward to kiss her forehead. "I got to get to the school early to help a few students with their science projects." The brunette woman explained as she donned her coat and grabbed the purse hanging on the hook next to it.

Emma watched her and nodded, smiling slightly. "Oh, okay. Have a good day at work."

"I will, thank you. Enjoy your breakfast and had a good day at school. Love you!" She shouted, rushing out the door she managed to open.

"Love you, too!" Emma called out after her, and god, did it feel awkward. She never really said those words to someone else, especially not without feeling something for them. But it was so different and sort of natural with the Nolans. They were genuinely loving and caring towards her and she couldn't help but to develope feelings for her new parents. She was lucky, she concluded.

With a warm and fuzzy feeling, Emma quickly finished up her breakfast and departed from the loft as well. It had cooled down incredibly outside, leaving a gentle nip in the morning air. Emma hugged herself, pressing the hoodie's warm material closer against herself. At least it wasn't sweltering anymore, which had sucked trying to walk to school while swimming in sweat.

After coming to the agreement with Ms. Mills about eating lunch from then on in her room during fifth period, she had told Ruby to make her lunches everyday without a call beforehand. The brunette had asked if she would be crazy enough to have grilled cheese everyday, because, yeah, that could get tiring and too much would make her sick of the meal. So the waitress now had decided she would surprise Emma with a different lunch everyday.

Emma had pestered her friend into telling her what she planned on making, but Ruby was reluctant to tell and said it would be a surprise. She also took it upon herself to leave more notes at the bottom of the bag, or so she said she would do that. And, fuck, what the hell was she doing?

The blonde stopped by the diner, not at all surprised to see that Ruby wasn't outside yet. Pulling out her phone from the kangaroo pocket, she checked the time, then quickly scrolled through to message her friend.

_Here._

There was an immediate response, resulting in an eyeroll from Emma.

_Someone excited to see her girlfriend this morning?_

Despite her little breakdown at Granny's on Thursday, her two friends had still taken the liberty to tease her about the crush she had. She eventually grew on the teasing and merely rolled her eyes every time they deemed it necessary to taunt and tease.  
And, _fuck_, when they discovered that her background was now that picture, she could have sworn that Belle was going to hyperventilate. That reaction caused Emma to quickly return the background of her phone to its former black swan with a scowl on her face. Damn her friends.

"Here," the blonde jumped from her thoughts upon seeing Ruby in front of her with a brown paper bag extended in her hand. "Don't peek until lunch, 'kay? It's a surprise."

Then she winked and god only knows what she had planned.

"I won't." The blonde rolled her eyes. "Thanks again, Rubes, I appreciate it."

"Of course! You know I'd do anything for you, Em." Ruby gave her a wolfish grin before wrapping her lanky arms around Emma, pulling away seconds later. "Have a good day and don't get caught." she winked once again before turning to head back into the diner.

Emma just rolled her eyes as she stuffed the lunch bag into her backpack, then turned to lightly jog off towards the school.

* * *

"God, Emma, what is that smell?" Killian wrinkled his nose when Emma had opened her backpack for the first time in first period. She snorted and shrugged in response, pulling the notebook out that they needed for the questions on the board.

"Lunch," she simply stated, inhaling the scent that permeated from the bag. It was spicy and made her tastebuds water. What the hell did Ruby make?

That only made him quirk a brow. "Lunch? Are you eating peppers or something?"

"I don't know. Ruby made it." Emma shooed away the prodding finger. "She told me not to look at it."

"Why not?" He pouted. "And since when did Ruby make you lunch?"

She growled. "Stop being so goddamn nosey and let me do the assignment. I hate homework."

"Fine. But remember that our gym classes are merging together today for those fitness test things." Emma just wanted to wipe that smug look off his face with a dirty gym sock. Of course he would be so happy that, that would happen so he could bug her for another hour. If three hours in the same room with him weren't enough.

She looked up and narrowed her eyes. "Make it a habit to stay away from me."

"No promises," he bit.

"Emma! Killian! No talking during work time." Mr. Booth's voice shouted from across the room where he sat at his desk.  
The blonde shot the boy next to her a glare before hastily answering the questions. She normally tended to get any assignments done in class unless the teachers had made it a habit to hand it out five or less minutes before the bell. She absolutely hated those types of teachers and appreciated ones like Mr. Booth who would give them class work time, even if it were just ten minutes.

After first period had ended, Emma had headed off to Algebra, of course with Killian trailing behind her. Why he had to take the same classes as the blonde, she never knew. It was annoying sometimes, but she did enjoy having someone to talk to during class, even if he were just a pig half the time.

Usually in Mr. Spencer's class she got an hour away from him, which she would normally not mind, but she had to sit next to one of the more genial girls who ended up talking non-stop to her friend that sat next to her. And, god, did she wish Killian was next to her instead. At least she'd get some peace. Thank whatever higher being that they had a test today. She won't be going deaf in her right ear.

After taking the test in second period and spending the last ten minutes trying to find a way to muffle the shrill voice next to her, Emma nearly sprint to gym class. And, boy, by the time she was in the gym with the other students and Killian, she wanted it to be fourth period.  
It felt odd, but she already missed hearing Ms. Mills' deep voice. It was nice. It was the only one that she never tuned out. Fuck, she had it in deep and it had only been about two months that she had knowledge of that flawless woman's existence.

"Where are you at?" A male voice spoke beside Emma, causing her to slightly jump and glare at the disturbance.  
"The fuck, dude?"

"Jim called your name like thrice now." Killian smirked, prodding Emma's shoulder. "You're making this gaga face at the wall and we started to get scared."

"Shut up." Was all Emma said before marching off to where her gym teacher stood.

Forty minutes later, Emma was on her way to paradise. She walked through the halls with a smile on her face, not giving a single fuck if someone were to notice. Nothing could ruin her elated mood because she was less than two minutes away from seeing her favorite teacher and her stomach was doing little, pleasant flips.

And, oh boy, she was there before she knew it. When she looked around, she noticed that very few people were in the classroom. She wondered how many people decided to finally drop. But upon further inspection of the clock, she discovered it to be way before the time she would normally come in here. How the hell did she make it to the class so fast?

Emma shrugged that away and took her seat at the back of the classroom. Ms. Mills wasn't there. Where was she? Her coat was there. And so was the little paper cup she usually had on the corner of her desk.

_Good, she's here today._

One minute before the bell and the teacher still wasn't here. Where the hell was she? Now Emma's eyes were glued to the door, her stomach jumping every time the door opened, only to fall when it was just another one of her classmates. And, fuck, she was going to get sick if her stomach kept moving like one of those rides at an amusement park.

The bell then rang and, still, Ms. Mills was not to be found. Emma frowned and slumped in her seat, quietly watching the door as the other students took advantage of the lack of their superior and talked.

Then the door opened and in came… fuck.

_Oh fuck._

In stepped the principle, Mr. Gold.

And, fuck, what the hell happened to Ms. Mills? Her things were here. But she wasn't. And the principal was here.

_Oh God, something bad happened._

Mr. Gold limped over to the podium, a slight smirk on his face as the students immediately quieted upon his presence. He cleared his throat and widened his smile. She waited for the inevitable, but her frazzled nerves were wasted for nothing as he replied away her fears.

"Ms. Mills will not be here for this period. She is currently in a meeting. But do not fear," his voice just sounded so devious and she wondered why they let such a crocodile of a man become the principal of the school. He was all kinds of evil and Emma felt all kinds of bad juju when she was around him.

"I am going to take her place for the hour. She has a study guide for you, so I do suggest you take out a writing utensil. Shall we get started?"

Then it hit her, as the man passed out a paper for today's notes, that Ms. Mills might not make it to lunch.  
Damn.

But the meeting really shouldn't last _that_ long. She could always stay in here despite her absence and wait until she did show up.

That worked.

She would do that, Emma thought as she filled in the space below each question. The blonde allowed her thoughts to veer away from her teacher so she could quickly complete the study guide. Hopefully that would take her to the end of the period. She didn't like sitting too long in a room with Mr. Gold in it. That man just creeped her the hell out.

And it did take the entire period, finishing up all twenty questions. Why the hell Ms. Mills found it funny to force her students to answer such questions with _full_ _sentences_ was beyond her. And there were so many, too.

Emma looked up from her spot to the clock, one minute before the bell rang. Her eyes skated around the room to find that everyone else was either still working on the sheet or packed up and ready to go. Then her eyes landed on Mr. Gold sitting in Ms. Mills' desk, one of her pens between his fingers as he tapped it against the hard surface.  
She shuddered and shoved the study guide into her backpack which, upon opening it, allowed the aroma of her lunch hit her, causing her stomach growl. Oh, was she hungry and that smelled so _good_. She was seconds away from finding out what the hell Ruby had packed for her after the bell had finally rung.

Emma stayed in her spot like she usually did as every other student filed out of the room so they could attend lunch. She reached down as the last student left to pull out the paper bag when she noticed that Mr. Gold was still there. And he was standing beside her with a quirked eyebrow.

"Isn't it time to go, Ms. Nolan?" He asked, arms crossing over his chest.

"I have to ask Ms. Mills a question." Emma easily lied, her large, green eyes on the principal's face.

Mr. Gold nodded with a sound that barely acknowledged what she said. Then, "She'll be a while. I recommend that you ask her in class tomorrow." And he continued to stare at her until she got up, sighing in defeat, and trudged to the door. There was no sense in arguing with this man.

"Have a good day, Ms. Nolan." he called out as he followed behind her.

Emma had stopped in the middle of the English hallway, her eyes on the man as he limped towards the opposite direction, no doubt to his office. He locked the door so the blonde was forced to sit outside, her back against the door.

Goddamn that man. Now she had to get a sore ass from this hard ground as she waited.

And waited.

It felt like it had been hours, when in reality, it had really only been about twenty minutes. Ms. Mills had finally shown up, her pumps clicking on the ground as she walked towards the classroom. Then she stopped in front of Emma, and _oh god_, those legs were so long and deliciously tan.

_Don't stare. Don't stare. Don't stare._

She kept repeating in her mind, trying to pry her eyes away from the skin that hadn't been covered by that skirt of hers. Green doe eyes met surprised brown, and she smiled so sheepishly she must have looked like a damned schoolgirl.

_Oh, wait._

"You waited for me?" Ms. Mills finally asked, her voice slightly scratchy.

Emma nodded and hoisted herself from the ground so she could move out of the way. "Yeah. Mr. Gold told me to leave and he locked the door."

Once the door was open, she followed the brunette inside, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She instinctively went to her usual desk and moved the chair to sit next to Ms. Mills' as soon as she sat. Then she took her own seat, finally removing the paper bag from her pack.

"You didn't tell him, did you?" There was a hint of worry in that sexy voice of hers and that made Emma's heart drop.

"No, of course not." she shook her head. "I figured you wouldn't want me to, so I just said I needed to ask you a question."

"Thank you." Relief flooded over the teacher's visage. "I don't think he'd really allow us to eat lunch together. He would probably suspect something far more inappropriate and we can't have that."

"I understand." Emma nodded, and she did. If Mr. Gold really did suspect something that was far more mature than a simple lunch, Ms. Mills could ultimately lose her job. It was risky as it was just eating lunch with her in the classroom, but the brunette never seemed to mind. Emma knew that she enjoyed her company and she certainly hoped that this would continue.

"Good." Ms. Mills smiled and it made Emma's heart flutter. "Did you bring lunch?"

"Yeah! Ruby made something different. I don't even know what it is…" she stated, opening the bag with a dubious smile.

"It smells divine." Regina commented, inhaling deeply, and oh god that just made her chest strain against the tight jacket that she wore.

Emma took all her might to peel her eyes away from the bits of exposed cleavage and brought out a white, styrofoam container. Then followed another. The blonde quickly opened the top one to reveal…

"Lasagna?" Emma breathed incredulously. "What the hell, Rubes?"

Ms. Mills chuckled. "Well, she certainly outdone herself this time."

Emma scowled slightly at the container before peering into the bag, her eyes immediately finding the infamous note.

_Your girlfriend loves lasagna. Give her the labeled one. Trust me. ;)_

Moving the top takeout box to take a look at the bottom one, she hoped to find whatever the label was. And there it was, no doubt, a big heart on the top of it.

"Fuck you, Ruby." She thoughtlessly crumbled the bag up and tossed it into the garbage bin next to the teacher's desk. The actions caused Ms. Mills' brows to raise.

"Sorry," she sheepishly said, pushing the labelled container over to Ms. Mills who, yet again, raised her brows.

"She said to give you this one. I don't know…"

And then she opened it. There was another piece of lasagna in there, and it looked exactly the same as Emma's. What the hell, Ruby?

Then a fork was taken to the square as Ms. Mills began to dig in. The slight groan of surprise that slipped from her lips was panty-wetting. Oh, god, that did funny things to Emma.

"What is it?" she quickly asked, trying to ignore the blush that would no doubt be noticeable to the English teacher.

Regina grinned and showed her the lasagna square. "It has pepper flakes in it. That's just how I like it. She must have remembered."

"Did she now?" Emma grit as she stabbed her own piece a little too violently. She wished she had knew that Ms. Mills liked lasagna. She wished she knew she liked spicy things. That damn salad never told her anything. Stupid salads.

Then she spoke, and all bad thoughts about mauling Ruby dissipated, "How was your day, Emma?"

"It was quite boring. And annoying. Killian was being his usual perverted self again during gym." she muttered, and yeah, he was. He kept asking Emma how it was being in a locker room with all of those girls getting undressed around her. Emma said it was hard, and she hadn't really meant to, which had made Killian laugh unexpectedly and drag the attention of every classmate to the two. Oh, god, that was so embarrassing. At least she didn't have to come out to him anymore, and hopefully, he would stop trailing around like a puppy after her. That was if he actually took her seriously. The way that he laughed and just brushed it off didn't really tell Emma much.

"Killian Jones?" Ms. Mills asked softly, her head tilted.

Emma nodded, but then froze. Oh _yeah._ Killian was the one that had touched her ass, or so he said. And her world just came crashing down around her.

"I'm sorry for what he did to you." she blurted.

That earned an eyebrow raise.

"He told me he touched your butt or something and you sent him to detention."

"_Oh_." Then she was laughing. "He never did that, but he tells everyone he did. He actually touched a _boat_, but he was mocking the word from that Disney film. I do suppose it would be like him to go around gloating that he touched 'the' butt."

"Oh." _Fuck_. Emma had totally misinterpreted what he had said. But then he just readily agreed that he had sexually harassed her. "Goddamn him. That stupid liar. He shouldn't be staring at your ass. No one should be."

And that happened.

Those words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Because that was the second half of the little argument she had with him. He virtually said he had stared at her ass and that just angered Emma to no end.

"I…" And Ms. Mills was left speechless, because she didn't know how to respond to that.

"Sorry. I-I mean… He was saying that and… I think he misinterpreted what I had said previously and… Jesus. Shut me up." Emma slunk her head onto the desk. "I need music."

"M-Music?" Ms. Mills had finally been able to sputter, even though she wanted to ask more questions about the previous topic. Clearly Emma was too embarrassed to further that and she nodded.

"Mind if I play some while we eat?" she asked politely, pulling her phone out and setting it on the desk. Ms. Mills shook her head, in which Emma immediately woke her phone up to go to the music player. Boy, was she glad that she had changed her background back to the swan or she would be so _fucked_ right now.

"Do you like Marilyn Manson?" Emma asked, scrolling through the media list, she had paused on a title.

"I don't believe I know who that is." The teacher shook her head as the blonde pressed play on the song.

"You shall soon know, Ms. Mills." Emma smirked and leaned back in her chair, consuming the cold lasagna.

_Rock Is Dead_ played through the otherwise quiet room now, the volume rather low. And Ms. Mills just stared at the cellular device.

"Do you not like it?"

"Oh, no. I've just… It's nice." she finally said, a tight smile on her lips. "I need it after that meeting."

"What was that about, anyways? If you don't mind my asking..." The blonde asked curiously, hoping that it wouldn't be considered too snoopy. "I mean, it was random to have during a class period."

"Oh. That. Well, they were discussing how my classes are, since I have an entire dropped creative writing class. They decided to transfer Mr. Booth's original planning period's class over to me, which would be the class before yours. Also, they're trying to get me to be 'less intimidating.'"

"Less intimidating?" Emma snorted. "You're not intimidating at all."

That caused Ms. Mills to blink. "You don't think so?"

"No, of course not! They're just scared that they won't pass your class because of the rumors. I mean, I've got an A in this class, so I don't know what they're worried about." she shrugged. "Mr. Booth has some pretty smart students, usually."

She smiled. It was a soft, tentative one, but she smiled.

"I'll just have to ease up a bit on my grading scale, I suppose…" Ms. Mills sighed. "I've been doing this for over ten years and just now they decide to change my methods. It'll be difficult."

Emma smiled. "You'll do great. I'll give you free advertising if you want. Tell 'em that you're a pretty cool teacher, but everyone else's 'bad' grades were getting in the way."

"You'd do that?"

"Mhm!" Emma nodded. "I wish I could have you as a teacher next semester, too. I mean, this sucks… only one semester. Your's is the only class that I don't fall asleep in."

"How flattering." Regina smiled and chuckled. "I am certainly glad that you think so."

The blonde shrugged and grinned in return. "And you're the only one that I find inviting enough to eat lunch with. I don't know why everyone finds you so intimidating. Look at Mr. Spencer. Now _he's_ intimidating."

"Now, that's my colleague." The brunette chuckled anyways.

"Sorry," Emma laughed as well. She had to learn to use a filter around Ms. Mills. She kept forgetting that she was talking to her teacher and not just some friend. It was so weird, but she also suspected that Regina had felt the same while talking to her. Sometimes it was just so easy to open up to a person.

With a soft and content sigh, she leaned back against her chair once again. Then the inevitable came. The bell rang.

"Shit- aki mushrooms." Emma popped out of her seat, quickly gathering the trash, only to be stopped by an olive hand.  
"I'll get it. You go. I know how far your government class is." Then she flashed this reassuring smile that had Emma quickly shove her phone into her pocket and grab her bag so she could leave.

"Thanks." she mewled, speed-walking towards the door.

"Have a good day, Emma, and thank you for lunch." She heard a husky voice call out after her. All the blonde could do was reply with "_mhm_" which had left her unsure whether or not the teacher had heard it.

Emma reached the government classroom just in time to hear the announcement about a test. And, _fuck_, she didn't know that they had a test. She had forgotten over the weekend and her impatience to see Ms. Mills again. That means she'd just have to wing it and probably get a low grade. Dammit, perhaps she should start paying attention in class.

It wasn't until art class, about an hour later, that Belle spoke to Emma. Or, should she say, ask her that question.

"How was the lasagna?"

"You knew?" Emma narrowed her eyes at the brunette next to her, a scowl on her face. Because, of course she would know. It seems that she'd been hanging out with Ruby more often than not anymore.

The usually quiet girl nodded in response to the question, her eyes focused on a the papers in front of her.

"So, how was it?" she repeated.

"Good-"

"Did Ms. Mills like her special slice?" And there was a knowing twinkle in her eyes.

_Fuck_.

"Why did you two do that?"

"What?"

"The special piece and the heart and shit?"

"Because we know you nearly choked the last time you tried the spicy kind and every time Ms. Mills comes into the diner, she orders that." Belle shrugged as if it were simple.

"But why the heart?"

She didn't answer that question and Emma just knew why. Goddamn them two.

"I thought I told you to not play matchmaker?"

"We aren't. It was just a label."

"It was a _heart_."

"So? Did she say anything?"

"No. But that does-"

"Then you're fine. Leave it alone."  
"You two are so fucking annoying." Emma rolled her eyes, but allowed a playful smile on her lips.

"We know." Belle chuckled. "Did she like it?"

"Yeah. You know what she did?"

"What?"

Just thinking about that noise that Ms. Mills had made upon tasting the lasagna caused her to blush. She would never forget it. She suddenly chickened out and shook her head, deciding not to tell Belle of it. "Nothing. Never mind..."

"Oh, come on!"

"Just… never mind. Leave it alone."

"My God, Em, you're blushing!"  
"Shhhh!" Emma shrunk against her chair and poked at the paper with an ebony pencil.

"Sorry." But she really wasn't.

"Whatever." Emma rolled her eyes, staring at the paper in front of her. "I thought we were drawing faces. What the fuck is this shit?" She pointed to the paper between her and Belle that had a picture of a boy sitting in a chair on it.

"We're doing scaling and proportions. It's supposed to help with the project." Belle shrugged and held up a piece of paper. "Hadn't you been paying attention?"  
"Well, yes… No?"  
"Thought so." Belle chuckled. "Now, shut up. We need to get this done. You're already behind."

"Yeah, yeah…" Emma sighed grudgingly and began to do the assignment.


	6. Lasagna Day

**A/N: Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! And thank you for your suggestions as well, those of you who had given me a prompt. :) In this chapter I have one from a Guest. So, thank you very much! Don't worry if you had suggested something to me, it's going to be in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this new chapter and, please, tell me what you think! I enjoy reading what you have to say, and it helps me more than you would know.**

**The beginning of it might not really make sense. I was trying to find the best way to transition and I had a few other things planned while doing it. But I've edited it to the best of my abilities and I do hope that it makes sense. And I really hope that the entire story would makes sense. I've been quite tired lately while writing and, let me tell you, things can get crazy. Just. Rainbows. Remember that.**

* * *

After a while, lunches with Ms. Mills had become regular. Emma always stayed after class and the brunette never protested. Most of their lunches were filled with idle conversations, while some were just sat in companionable silence. At times, the two would get into deeper conversations, and Emma had suspected that Regina was more comfortable with her by now.

It was rare when the conversations evolved around the teacher herself, since she had usually been the one to ask Emma questions regarding her future. But as the weeks progressed, the blonde teen was able to get Ms. Mills to open up. And it was nice. She felt… _trusted_.

During one of the lunch hours, it was another Monday and the blonde had decided to dub it as 'lasagna day', Emma had brought out another container of the meal. Ruby must have made it a Monday thing and that didn't really bother Emma any, since the look of joy on Ms. Mills' face was enough to make up for the meal she wasn't so fond of. And of course, the noises she made upon tasting the spicy dish.

The murmur of satisfaction that rumbled in the brunette's voice had the blonde so distracted that she hadn't heard the question Regina had asked after finishing her swallow of food.

"I-I didn't quite catch that. May you please repeat the question?" Emma's cheeks burned a deep shade of pink and she was quite sure it was noticeable. If Regina _had_ noticed, she didn't say anything.

The words that left Emma's lips made Ms. Mills chuckle. "I asked if you had any plans after high school. Do you plan on leaving Storybrooke?"

"Oh, yeah," Emma blinked and sat straight in her seat, her plastic fork absentmindedly poking at the half-eaten lasagna square.

"Oh?" The brunette tilted her head with interest.

Emma just looked at her with a blink, marveling in the way that Ms. Mills had given her her undivided attention. She liked that. Usually other people acted so disinterested in what she had to say, with an exception of a select few.

"Where do you plan on going?"

"Sorry, I wasn't… My mind isn't here today." Emma mumbled sheepishly, playing with the end of her ponytail. "I want to go to Boston. Graham and I decided to join the police force up there together. I mean, of course I ought to go to college and I hope I get accepted into the one Graham's at." she babbled mindlessly.

"Pardon me, but who's Graham?" Ms. Mills asked politely, pushing her thick, black-framed glasses up.

"Oh, Graham. He's my gaming buddy. I think we hit it off 'cause he wanted to join the police force, too. He doesn't like the bastards that get away with shit, either, and he wants to help get those guys locked up." The blonde elaborated. She couldn't help but to study her teacher's face. She saw _something_ flicker through those muddy orbs of hers, but Emma didn't quite catch it. "He's actually supposed to be coming down here in a couple of months to tell me all about it. Well… he's supposed to visit all of us, but I'm gonna make him tell me about what it's like up there and what his apartment's like. I'm gonna have to crash there for a bit, I know for sure."

"I see," Ms. Mills smiled. "I do wish you good luck and I hope that you do get accepted."

"Thanks." She gave her a sheepish smile, her fingers working at the seam of her jeans.

"I'm quite sure that it would be nice if you were able to go to the same school as your boyfriend. He is your boyfriend, correct?" Regina could feel her heart sink at the idea of Emma having a boyfriend. And that was really quite strange for her. Of course, she had felt like this before, it wasn't foreign. It was something that of jealousy. She had had such feelings so many times throughout her years. But feeling it _now_? That was just absurd. Emma was her student. _Her student_. And she wasn't at all sure why she had these strange feelings upon her assumption. It wasn't right and it just confused the hell out of Regina. She tried her best to mask the emotion flitting behind her eyes. But she couldn't get rid of that rock in her stomach. It was weighing her down and nearly made the brunette sick.

Emma tilted her head, closely eyeing the new look on the older woman's face. She still couldn't guess what it was. The teacher was masked into a poker face. But what she had said just made the blonde laugh.

And laugh she did. It was a funny thing that she would automatically assume that Graham was her boyfriend. Emma did suppose that it must have sounded like that upon talking about him. She didn't exactly make it clear that he was just a friend.

Oh, little did Ms. Mills know about her.

"No, no he isn't." The blonde chuckled, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "He's like a brother to me, actually." _And I'm totally gay, so no, he isn't my boyfriend,_ she added silently.

"Oh! I do apologize for assuming." The corner of the teacher's mouth slightly turned upwards, her entire face filled with something that of mortification.

"It's alright," she shrugged nonchalantly, but wore a slightly smug smile. "Anything else you wanna know, I guess?"

"Yes. Tell me, please, what made you decide that you want to join the police force? I'm intrigued to learn."

Emma bit her lip. Really, she didn't want to answer that question. At least not yet. She wasn't exactly comfortable with sharing this sort of information with her teacher just yet. Sure, she had talked to her about things before, and yeah, she wrote stories that were vaguely based upon her life. But _voicing_ these things were a little too painful for the blonde and she'd really rather not want to lose her cool in front of her favorite teacher.

So she decided to dance around the complete truth and stick with a more general explanation.

"Like I had said before, I wanna take those bastards off the street, the ones that can just get away with stuff. Like, _really_ bad stuff. There are all kinds of sickos still running around because people don't have enough evidence pinned on them to throw their asses in jail and its ridiculous. I want to squeeze the information out of those bastards and, after I'd be through with them, they'd want me to throw their asses in jail. People like… Never mind." she shrugged and leaned back against her chair once again, slightly slumping into it.

"I understand…" And Ms. Mills looked like she really _did_ understand, because she had that thoughtful expression on her face, that one where she's just analyzing what Emma had just said. Emma sometimes caught the brunette making that face when other staff members were talking to her, although, she also had a bit of a bored expression on then. Now... Right now, it was nothing but pure, unadulterated fascination.

"Also, I think it'd be pretty cool to carry a gun around." The blonde flashed a cheeky smirk, trying to lighten the mood that had somehow darkened.

"Yes. I suppose that would be nice." Ms. Mills smiled. "So, you said that you would be going to Boston? Is your friend going to take you or your parents?"

"Oh, neither." The blonde shrugged, then grinned. "Mary Margaret said if I got all A's this year, she'd give me her old Bug. I'll be taking that and, then, I won't be stuck wherever I'm at all the time."

"That's nice of her." She grinned. "How are your grades so far, if you don't mind my asking?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't mind. And, uh… I guess I'm doing pretty good. But I think I'm falling a bit behind in gov. Those tests get me."

"Oh? Well, if you do need help with your government class, I would be more than happy to help. That was one of my favorite subjects- aside from English and literature." Ms. Mills offered, finishing up her lunch with a few swift bites.

"Really? I'd appreciate it. Thanks." The blonde's face instantly lit up. She had been quite worried about her grade in that class. It was a pretty easy course, but it was poorly taught and the information didn't stick. She knew only half the answers on the test and had to guess on the others.

"It's really no problem, dear."

"You should tell me why you decided to become a teacher." Emma suddenly said, once again sitting up to meet the teacher's chocolate gaze. "Since I told you my reason."

"Oh," she looked surprised by the demand, her eyes widening ever so slightly. When she spoke, there was no hesitance to her voice. Emma could tell that she really did have a strong passion for her job. And that just made it so much worse that those assholes treat her the way they do.

"I've always loved children. I know that you guys aren't exactly children, per say, but I… enjoy giving knowledge to others. I've always had a passion towards writing and the language arts as a whole. I had always been quite confused on what career I wanted to pursue. There are so many that evolve around the creative gift of writing and I wanted to contribute to _something_." she removed her glasses and cleared off a smudge before setting them aside. She smiled rather sadly now, even though Emma knew she tried to hide it. "I wanted to become a writer. And if that hadn't worked out so well, I figured that perhaps getting a job in journalism would suit me better. But…"

"What happened?" Emma frowned as her teacher had trailed off.

Regina sighed and frowned, her voice low and slightly gruff. "It… didn't work out. I tried, but everything that I sent in got denied. After a while, I accepted defeat and decided to continue school to become a schoolteacher. It was my second choice, after all. My… mother had insisted that I needn't waste my time with the writing business, and I guess she was right. It didn't end well, and now, I don't really mind. I do quite enjoy my job. I enjoy… moments like this. I like the way some students are inclined to make art for me. Every aspect is unique and makes me love my job more… But, recently, everything had gone downhill, as you can see." Ms. Mills played with the thin, leather watch on her wrist, lightly biting her lip as she had done so. "By the way, I had never asked, Emma… What did your art teacher say about your projects for me?" Her gaze glanced over to the artwork that Emma had made her a couple of weeks ago. It was still tacked proudly to the board.

Emma shrugged. "She didn't see that one. Hadn't you wondered how I brought it to you the next day? Oh… Wait… I suppose that you didn't know that we were assigned the project the day before."

"She didn't see it?" she looked slightly worried.

"Nope! We had to draw _our_ names, and anyways, I would have figured that it would be weird to hand that in. No offense or anything…" Emma implored, a soft blush on her cheeks. "It was hard, because I had Belle sniffing down my neck while I tried to do it. So I took it home to finish _that_ one for you."

"I see." Ms. Mills flashed her a sweet smile. "I really do appreciate that you would do that for me."

"Of course!" Emma grinned as well.

"Although, if you didn't want her to know you were doing projects on me, why use me as your subject?" She now tilted her head with furrowed brows. "Wouldn't she know, then?"

"She's pretty new." The blonde shrugged. "She might not know who you are. You're in different departments, after all, and this school is larger than I thought. I know some teachers that have no clue other teachers even exist. I mean, do _you_ know every teacher?"

"No, I suppose not…" The English teacher looked thoughtful.

The teen nodded to her teacher. "She might think you're an actress or something. I mean, you're super pretty."

And, shit, she just said that.  
Ms. Mills looked at her with wide eyes, surprise evident on her features. Then something flickered through her eyes, but it was gone so fast, Emma wasn't able to delegate her thoughts.

"I mean… You know… I'm sure you know that you're pretty." She shrugged, trying to play it off cool, but Emma totally knew that she wasn't kidding herself. She fucked up.

"Thank you…" The brunette pursed her lips slightly together, chocolate orbs fixed on her wristwatch once again before she spoke. "You should start getting ready. The bell is about to ring."

"Thanks…" Emma said quietly, feeling embarrassed as hell about what she had just said. Oh, god, now Ms. Mills probably thought of her strangely.

"I don't want you to be late to your favorite class." The brunette smirked playfully and Emma's heart leapt. Maybe she didn't screw up as much as she thought, because Ms. Mills seemed to be in the joking mood about Government class, which was one of Emma's least favorites.

"No, I mean… Thanks for telling me that. What you said, earlier." She offered her a smile as she stood, gathering the trash items once again. "And, thanks for that, too."

"Of course, dear," she smiled lightly, a look of gratitude etched on her features that Emma didn't miss. It always made the blonde's heart sink when she saw those looks on her teacher's face. It just reminded her how _lonely_ she must be. She wasn't entirely sure if it was by choice or not, but she _did_ know that Ms. Mills never talked so deeply with someone else before, and she seemed to appreciate it. It's always good to get something off your chest.

Emma bent to grab her backpack, slinging it over her right shoulder. "And, hey… I… I enjoy these moments, too. Talking with you. It's nice. It's kinda freeing. Even if I spew vocal diarrhea all over the place." she whispered softly before turning towards the door, her feet lightly thumping on the ground as she left.

"Have a good day, dear." She could practically _hear_ Ms. Mills' smile through her words. She didn't even need to look behind her, but she did anyways, and _holy shit_. The brunette wore one of the largest grins that she had ever seen her put on. Her perfect white teeth peeked through her plump, red lips and it reached her eyes, and fuck, Emma thought her eyes would be engulfed by cheek if she were to grin any wider.

"You too, Ms. Mills. And thank you, again. I appreciate it."

"Any time, Emma."

Then she left, too, with a large smile on her face.

* * *

"What's got you all smiley today?" Ruby had asked her blonde friend as she replaced Emma's empty mug with a fresh refill of cinnamon cocoa.

Emma hadn't stopped smiling since her lunch with Ms. Mills today. She hadn't a clue why, but it just made her so happy that the brunette teacher had actually spoken about herself today. Something personal. And the way she smiled just before the blonde left made her heart melt.

But, of course, she wasn't going to divulge such information to her nosey friends. They were always on a constant tease-session with her every time she did spill something.

"Nothing," she hummed, taking a sip of her cocoa. And, _oh_, that was good.

"Nothing my ass, Emma. You _never_ smile _that_ much. And Belle said that you've been walking around with that big-ass grin on your face for the past three hours."

Emma huffed and glared at her other friend who shot her an apologetic look. No matter how hard she tried and how hard she begged for Belle to not tell Ruby a thing, she always did. Even if it were indirectly like this. Perhaps she should have just gone home directly after seventh period. But Belle had insisted she come down to the diner with her to talk with Ruby while she was on her break.

That was about two hours ago.  
She had messaged Mary Margaret that she would be out for a while with her friends, and would probably miss dinner since they both had insisted that she _must_ stay. She really didn't understand those two sometimes. They seemed to always have _something_ up their sleeves.

And now, here she was, waiting. It was past five now. She'd surely be missing dinner. Hopefully Ruby planned on buying her a goddamned meal.

Plus, they kept pestering her about how full of smiles she was. She tried to hard to just rid herself of the smile spread across her lips, trying to think of dead things or the way her friends were frustrating the hell out of her. But, to no avail, her mind always wound up on Ms. Mills once again and that grin that she had given her before Emma's departure.

"Come on, Em!" Ruby playfully whined, flicking at her friend's golden mane. "You never tell us _anything_ anymore!"

"Yeah," Belle finally piped up, nodding with the waitress. "You don't even tell me what you ate for lunch."

"That's because you already know." Emma quirked a brow at her friend. And, yeah, that was true She _did_ know because she was usually with Ruby in the mornings anymore.

"But, still, Em. You gotta share some juicy stuff with us. We're your best friends." The brunette waitress bumped her shoulder against Emma's own. "You've, like, clammed up on us every time we speak of _her_. Did something go… wrong?"

"No." Emma was willing to divulge that much.

Both Belle and Ruby raised their brows, then glanced at each other before the latter spoke.

"Did you two… y'know? Kiss?"  
And that sent Emma's cheeks aflame. She hid herself in her cocoa, trying her best to ignore her friends' stares. Really, she didn't have anything to hide nor be embarrassed about. She never kissed her teacher. But, yet, she was acting like some fruity teenager who had been caught macking on their boyfriend.

"Oh my god." Ruby's eyes widened, her jaw slack. "You did, didn't you? You sly bitch!" Then her elbow was jabbing into Emma's ribs uncomfortably. Apparently her silence was taken as a yes.

"Way to go, Ems!" Belle whooped and high fived the waitress over Emma's slumped form.

"No," the blonde mumbled.

"No?" Then they silenced, staring at Emma incredulously.

"Seriously? Like, _seriously_, seriously? You're telling me that you _didn't_ liplock with the hottie English teacher?" That was Ruby. Emma lifted her head and shook it quietly.

"No. And I don't understand why you'd think that I would. This is strictly a platonic thing." The blonde shrugged, even though her shoulders felt heavy. Really, she wished it were far from platonic, but, a girl could only dream. It would never happen, she told herself. She was just chasing after an empty dream.

"Aren't you using fancy language?" Ruby mocked, smirking down at her friend, but that had only earned her a glare. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just figured…"  
"There's really no 'just figuring' with this. And… Look, I gotta go." Emma sighed, sliding out of her stool. "I've got to get this stupid government homework done and I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I need internet."

She could see Ruby look over to Belle, her eyes and head jerking as if she were gesturing to something. And, of course, she was.

"No, no!" Belle hopped up and blocked Emma's path, earning her a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"You have to stay." The brunette pleaded, grabbing Emma's arm. "Come on. Just a little while more, okay?"

"Why? I don't see the point in this and I'm hungry." Emma grumbled, but obliged. Might as well play along with whatever little game that they had planned.

She looked up at Ruby as if questioning her about what the hell was going on, but as soon as she did, the waitress fumbled in her spot.

"I gotta go waitress…" and she scuttled off to the table by the left window in the front of the diner.

"I don't understand what you guys are doing." Emma drifted her gaze to Belle who had now remained oddly quiet. She sit on the stool next to the blonde, playing with the hem of her dress. She looked so awkward. Whatever Ruby had run off to do must have been _the thing_ that they were keeping her here for. Thank god. After seeing or getting whatever the hell it was, she could go home. She loved her friends dearly, but they bugged the hell out of her sometimes.

"Just wait." Was the petite brunette's reply.

"Wait. That's all I've been-"

"Emma!" Ruby's voice rang behind her. When the blonde turned to face the lanky waitress, she was met with a wolfish grin. One that held a secret. "Go to the table over there," she pointed past Emma to the table where she had just been at. The blonde quirked a brow and looked at the inhabitant. She couldn't see their face since a large newspaper had been hiding it. What the hell?

"Who is that? Why the hell do I want to go to a stranger?"

"Not a stranger, Em!" Ruby gave the blonde a gentle push out of her seat. "Go on. Bring your bag and thank me later."

When Emma turned around, Ruby was headed across the diner to proceed working. Belle now left her stool and flashed Emma a knowing smile before heading towards the exit.

What the hell did these two have planned? Some sort of blind date? She furrowed her brows and headed over to the occupied table. For some reason, she felt nervous. Her palms were slightly sweaty and her hands shaky. Why the hell was she nervous?  
"Uh… excuse me. Is this seat taken?" She spoke, her voice giving her away.

"No, it's-..." The person dropped the newspaper from their face to reveal a surprised visage. "Emma!"

"Ms. Mills? What are you doing here?" The blonde blinked. Goddamn those two! How the hell did they even get the brunette teacher here in the first place?

She caught sight of Ruby and gave her her best glare.

"I usually eat dinner here every Monday night around this time." The teacher answered, removing her glasses to sit next to the newspaper. "What about you?"

"O-oh…" Emma bit her lip and scuffed a shoe at the ground. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. "I was hanging out with my friends. Remember how I told you Ruby was a waitress here?"

"Oh, yes. That I do." Ms. Mills gave her a warm smile. "Oh! Where are my manners? Why don't you take a seat?" She gestured towards the spot across from her, but Emma hesitated.

"I don't want to disturb your dinner."

"It's quite alright, dear. I insist." The teacher offered her a reassuring smile.

"If you're sure…" Then Emma took the spot, sitting stiffly with her backpack on her thighs. "This feels weird."

"I'm sorry. I know I'm not the most genial person to talk to."

"No. It's not that. It's… I don't know." Emma shrugged, nibbling anxiously on her lower lip. "I should… I should probably go. I've got homework due tomorrow."

"Oh," and Emma swore she could see the wounded expression that crossed the brunette's features. But it was gone as fast as it had come.

"I can stay a while longer, I… guess." Emma blushed slightly. "If you don't mind?"

"No, of course not!"

"Hey, do you mind if I do my homework here, or…?"

"You can if you wish." The teacher shrugged, not seeming to mind. She gazed up to Ruby who had set a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. She murmured a thank you and took a sip just as the waitress gave Emma another cinnamon cocoa, winking as she did so.

"You're dead, Ruby." Emma managed to mutter into her friend's ear before she sauntered off. Oh, she would totally be dead for doing this to her. Why the hell did she want to watch Emma just _suffer_?

"What do you have?"  
"Excuse me?" Emma glanced up after pulling her notebook from the pack.

"For homework, I mean." Ms. Mills chuckled and reached down to pick her glasses back up. Slowly, she slipped them on, chocolate orbs on the papers in front of the blonde. "Perhaps I could assist you."

"I have government. But, it's fine. I can use the internet."

"Isn't that called cheating, Emma?" The brunette quirked one of her perfectly plucked brows. "Come on. Let me see it."

Emma looked at the woman across from her for a moment before letting out a defeated sigh and handed over her homework. Ms. Mills gently plucked it from her hand and read over it with a thoughtful expression. Emma couldn't help but to stare at her as she had done so. Holy hell. Her eyes were like goddamn magnets towards this woman.

She continued to watch curiously, enjoying the way the heat from her cocoa permeated through the cup and warmed her hands as she held the mug close. Ms. Mills looked as if she were so intrigued by what that stupid little paper said, or so she thought, since her eyes seemed to absorb the entire thing. Her lower lip disappeared into her mouth, Emma noticed, biting her own. The brunette could pull off the most intriguing of looks. The blonde was pretty sure that Regina Mills was the only woman on earth that could look sexy while reading a teenager's government homework.

Yup. She was certain, Emma thought as she took a long, refreshing sip of cocoa. Her eyes wandered down from the teacher's face to… _Sweet mother of god_. The brunette's blood red, silk button up shirt had it's top few buttons undone, which exposed just enough of the older woman's cleavage to have Emma's mouth nearly watering. All things logical flew out the window.

She was dumbstruck and she couldn't peel her eyes away. Oh, God, help her now. Where was Ruby when you needed her?

"This seems pretty simple." Ms. Mills' husky voice broke the blonde from her temporary trance, which of course, caused her to nearly fall out of her seat and spill the cocoa all over her front.  
"Oh, shit!" Emma cried, setting the mug down to look down at her soiled jacket. "Oh great! _Just great_."

"Oh, my. Emma, are you alright?" The English teacher was up immediately, grabbing napkins to help clean the messy liquid up. Ruby was over in no time, tsking at her friend with a dish towel.

"Really? You're just making my job much harder, Em."

"Oh, shut up, Ruby. It was _your_ demon cocoa that spilled all over me."

"_Sure_." Ruby gave her a knowing smirk.

"I think we've got it all, Rubes." Emma raised her brows at her friend, handing her the dirtied dish towel. "Thank you."

"Mhm!" She grinned and leaned closer to Emma, her lips right next to the blonde's ear as she whispered. "The next time you decide to stare at her tits, make sure you aren't holding anything."

The waitress strutted off, leaving a flustered Emma behind. Dammit. Of course she'd been watching. That was just like her.

"Are you alright, Emma?" Ms. Mills asked, stuffing the napkins onto the table. Her eyes inspected the blonde.

"Yes, thank you."

"Your clothes are all ruined." She frowned slightly. "I suppose you must return home to clean them up."

"Eh, it's just my hoodie." The blonde shrugged and shucked the article of clothing off, leaving her in a thin, white tanktop. "See? All good."

"If you say so, dear." Ms. Mills licked her lips, turning to replace herself in her designated chair. "Now, as I was saying, Emma."

"Yes?" Emma had done the same, though she scoot to the edge of the chair with sharp, green eyes fixed on the brunette's flawless olive face. Damn whatever acne scars she had on her own. Her complexion was utter shit because of that and her nonstop need to pick at scabs.

"All of the answers to this are fairly easy. I assume you have paid attention, yes?" When there was hesitance in Emma's response, the teacher clucked her tongue. "Alright… Well, for this top section here. True or false. It's a fifty-fifty chance. Why don't you try to answer them to the best of your ability and I shall check the answers upon your completion?"

"Alright," the blonde nodded and retook her homework sheet. Digging a pencil out of her bag, she looked over the questions. True or false. Simple enough.

After several pencil taps and ten true or false questions later, Emma had finished, pushing the paper across the table for Ms. Mills to check over her work. She was pretty sure she got every single one of them wrong, and by the way the teacher had her brows scrunched together just proved it.

"Sorry I suck." she mumbled.

"You don't… suck, Emma." Whisky colored eyes met emerald. "You did much better than you give yourself credit for. You're a smart girl, Ms. Swan. Do not put yourself down." She slid the worksheet across the table towards Emma once again. "You got all of them right. I simply do not understand your worry."

"I haven't studied or anything." Emma's eyes were wide with disbelief. She got them all right? "Lucky guesses."

"Now, why don't you try to answer the multiple choice questions? It'll give you more of a challenge, but you should know that one of the questions is right. Eliminate ones that would not make sense towards the question itself and choose from there."

"That's what every teacher says." Emma tapped the butt of her pencil on the paper, eyes reading the first question over. And over. "You may say it's so simple, but it's far more difficult than it you think."

"I know it is, Emma. I know that sometimes you just don't know the answer. I was a teenager once, too." Ms. Mills quirked a brow, an amused smile captivating her lips. "Or had you forgotten that every adult was once young?"

"No, I haven't…" Emma whispered quietly. She looked down at the paper again, squinting at it before circling an answer.

Either it was the new boost of confidence or the way Ms. Mills' company had eased her, but Emma finished in no time with a proud smile. She slid the paper across the diner's table to her teacher.

"On what level of confidence do you feel with your work?" The brunette's deep voice asked, her brows raised over the thick-rimmed glasses.

"I'm feeling… pretty confident."

"Then let's see where this new found confidence has gotten you." Ms. Mills smiled softly, then proceeded to look over the circled answers on Emma's paper. And, _oh god_, the way her lips pursed told the blonde that she probably failed.

"I totally bombed it, didn't I?" The teen groaned, slumping helplessly in her seat. She didn't know half of the answers on that damned worksheet and she had guessed on most of them. So much for trying to pay attention to the notes in class. Mr. Glass had a voice that could put a hyper toddler to sleep in an instant. His words just went in one ear and out the other, nothing ever stuck. Worksheets, such as this, came few and far between. They were usually given out before an upcoming test to help them 'study' for it.

But Emma knew that wasn't exactly true. All teachers were required to have some sort of gradable content to enter into the database, which was more preferably an assignment. Of course, it was rather hard to geniusly finish such a task when most students hadn't quite gotten a grip on what they were learning. Now, Emma was pretty sure no one had an A in that class. And they called Ms. Mills a bad teacher.

"You only missed two, Emma. And that, out of ten, is not too bad." The brunette teacher propped her glasses back onto her nose and handed Emma back her paper.

"Well, having guessed on most of it, that's good. Right?"  
"Emma," Ms. Mills clucked. "You shouldn't have to _guess_. You should _know_."

"I can't _know_ anything when I haven't _learned_ it. I don't want to sound harsh or anything, and I know that's he's your colleague and all, but Mr. Glass kinda sucks at teaching."

"You don't think I know that?" And as fast as those words were out of the brunette's mouth, her jaw snapped shut.

Emma leaned forward in the diner's chair, her elbows pressing against the tabletop. "What do you mean?"

Ms. Mills looked as if she had deeply regretted ever opening her mouth and Emma was about to let it go, until the brunette looked around them before leaning forward, her voice a soft whisper.

"I am about to divulge information that no one, and I repeat _no one_, must know of this. Do you promise to not tell anyone?" There was a serious sharpness in her eyes that told the blonde that she wasn't playing around.  
"Y-yes. Of course, Ms. Mills. You can trust me. I won't tell _anyone_." Emma promised, her ponytail bobbing as she nodded her head. "It's just between the two of us."

"Good," she reached across the table, her darker-toned hand contrasted against Emma's paler complexion as she gently took the other's hand in her own. Soon, the other followed, both grasping onto Emma's as chocolate met with emerald.

"Sydney- Mr. Glass, we went to college together. He was majoring in journalism and we had a few classes together. Remember when I had said that I wanted to become a writer? Although, my… mother insisted my major be in teaching." The teacher was slightly hesitant with her next words. "We met in class and he had developed this… infatuation. He became obsessed and would do _anything_ for me. And, after realizing that I would be going into teaching, he decided to change direction and take classes evolving around such. I wasn't sure _which_ type of teacher he had planned on becoming, but… well, soon enough, we graduated and I had been on my way back to Storybrooke. And he followed."

"And then became the government teacher?" Emma stared incredulously at her teacher. So, apparently the only reason why Mr. Glass decided to be a teacher was only for the fact that he had a crush, _a goddamn crush_, on Ms. Mills. No wonder why he never seemed enthused while teaching the class. He was forced to do something he didn't like because he was close to the one he thought he loved. What a sad, sad little man.

"Yes." Ms. Mills nodded, sighing shortly after before leaning back once again, her hand withdrawing from Emma's. "I really, probably, shouldn't have told you that, Emma. But I do trust that you will keep this information to yourself?"

"Of course," the blonde quickly obliged. She really had no desire to tell anyone of what Ms. Mills had told her. Well… it would be great gossip to share with her friends, but she had made a promise, and she intended to keep it. She was trying to gain Ms. Mills' trust, after all. Emma had to show the older woman how mature she could be. She felt years older than she really was. Perhaps that's what leading a tough life gifted.

The brunette teacher gave Emma a grateful smile, the corners of her mouth tilting slightly upwards, for only a few seconds before letting her facial expression drop. Emma saw the woman's eyes darken, a deep and slightly confused emotion eclipses her brown orbs. The blonde furrowed her brows, unable to determine why there was such a sudden change within the teacher.

"Are you okay, Ms. Mills?" Emma inquired, her head tilting to the side. "Do you want me to go?"

"No, dear, you're fine. I mean, unless you want to leave." And just as fast as it had come, the emotion and darkness dissipated from Ms. Mills' eyes, leaving her brown orbs to shine like melted chocolate.

"Yeah. I wanna stay for a bit. If you don't mind, I might grab something to eat."

"You haven't eaten, yet?"

"No. But I'm sure Ruby would be kind enough to get me something." The blonde teenager smirked and twisted her body to call out to her friend. The waitress, not busy at the moment, rushed over to the blonde with a wide smile on her face.

"Hey, girl, what's up?"

"You owe me food." She stated blatantly.

Ruby sneered at the look on the blonde's face, which spoke the words left unsaid. "Fine. One grilled cheese coming right up."

"Thank you." Emma managed her sweetest voice before turning around to play with her mug.

"And lasagna, Regina? With pepper flakes?"

"Just how I like it, dear." The teacher offered Ruby a polite smile before the waitress sauntered off to fulfil their orders. Emma, on the other hand, was seething.

How dare Ruby do that? And right in front of the blonde, too. She really must be jonesing to get a dose of Emma's fist. Unless she was doing it on purpose to spite her friend, and that made Emma even more angry.

"Are you alright, Emma?" The sweet and familiar voice that rang from those lips had immediately sated Emma's anger.

She looked up with large, doe-eyes, her head bobbing in reply to the question. She couldn't let her anger show, not to that sweet woman in front of her. Ms. Mills would be the very last person that could ever be a hair up her ass. That concerned and ever so caring face contradicted any horrendous thoughts about Ruby's joke and replaced them with little unicorns and rainbows instead.

"Rainbows."

_What._

_Did she really just say that?_

"Pardon?" The teacher's eyes were quite large now, the whites showing incredibly.

Fuck. Emma always feared something like that would happen. That's why she absolutely hated thinking when she should be talking as well, because something like _this_ was bound to happen.

"S-sorry. I was just… thinking about rainbows for some odd reason." Emma mentally kicked herself. She was thinking about rainbows alright, but for far more inappropriate ways. But Ms. Mills didn't need to know that.  
"I see…" The darker woman looked skeptical.

Emma couldn't help the blush that crept up her neck and flooded her cheeks with pink. She hated her body, sometimes, and the way it reacted to certain things. Especially if one of those _things_ was Regina Mills.

The two had ended up sitting in an awkward silence, neither one knowing what to say to the other. It wasn't until Ruby had interrupted them, did they finally relax, no doubt relieved for the intrusion.

"Thank you, Ms. Lucas." Ms. Mills flashed the waitress a grin when the lanky brunette set the plate in front of her. Emma's own meal soon followed , as well as a few words from her friend.

"It's on me, Em." Ruby whispered before trotting off.

Emma smiled to herself. Okay. Maybe Ruby was off her shit list for now. She didn't even have to argue with her friend about getting the meal for free. Afterall, it was her friends' fault for her skipping dinner.

She glanced up to catch sight of Ms. Mills already chewing a bite of her meal. The blonde tried so hard to keep the grin from flashing across her face, but it failed, which had caused the brunette to quirk a brow.

"Ruby's Granny makes the best lasagna." Emma found herself saying. She didn't know why the hell she just said that. It was sure to be random to the teacher. But the other woman merely smiled.

"Indeed she does. I must say, it's better than mine. I can never get mine to quite taste like hers." Ms. Mills responded, setting her fork down so she could take the napkin from her lap and dab delicately at the corners of her mouth.

"Why do you like pepper flakes in them?"

The brunette subconsciously licked her lips. "It gives it a little _kick_."

"I bet." Emma giggled, then proceeded to explain how she didn't necessarily enjoy lasagna, even though, yeah, Granny made the best. Ms. Mills was a bit shocked, if not offended (or at least Emma thought so), and said she was missing out on quite a lovely meal. Emma only laughed and shrugged, saying that she really wasn't and, anyways, spaghetti was quite similar to the dish.

The rest of the night consisted of idle conversation and the often subtle, sheepish looks that Emma had donned upon realizing what she was doing. The two were practically on a date, but Emma tried to push that annoying little voice aside and listen to the moral one telling her that it was just a nice, platonic dinner with her teacher because the other woman had been nice enough to invite her to sit with her tonight. Whatever the brunette had been thinking at the time was probably a far cry from where Emma's thoughts veered. The point aside, the blonde must admit this was one of the best dinners she had had in a while, of course, excluding all of the lovely meals at home.

By the end of the night, Emma felt that she had an even deeper connection with her teacher, mentally if not emotionally. It had gotten easier to talk to her as the hours passed and the diner emptied. She learned simply and basic things about Ms. Mills, and even though they weren't much, it was still a turning point for them since the older woman had opened up about herself. Like how she was an only child and she used to absolutely _love_ horseback riding in her younger years before college. And, somehow, her mother knew the principle. A strange thing, that. Ms. Mills had slightly questioned that as she talked about it, but decided to pass it off. She didn't want to discuss her mother. The most information that the blonde had gotten about her was the woman's name and that was Cora. Everything else was left unsaid, but the look in her teacher's eye told her there was so much more to tell.

When the two had parted ways, Ruby finally kicking them out and a worried text from Mary Margaret, they said their goodbyes with large, toothy grins. It was a nice night for the both of them. Of course, morally, it was wrong for a teacher and a student to have dinner together like this. That had worried Ms. Mills upon realizing that, but Emma assured her no one would know nor should they really suspect a thing. It wasn't like they had a secret relationship or anything, but Emma didn't say that. The words died on her tongue before they were thrown from her mouth. Being reassured, the English teacher nodded and said her goodnight before heading down the street towards a black Mercedes. Emma watched her get into the vehicle and drive off before guiding her feet down the sidewalk towards the apartment, backpack slung on her shoulder and soiled hoodie underneath her arm as she wore the stupidest smile she could muster. This really was a good night and nothing could ruin it. Not even if Mary Margaret or David would reprimand her for staying out so late without saying a word about it.


	7. Late

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I really enjoy reading them. They totally make my day. On another note, here's another chapter for all of you lovely readers! Please tell me what you think! :)**

**I would like to thank _betterthanbefore_ for giving me a prompt/idea that I had used in this chapter.**

**And also, I used a line from _House of 1000 Corpses._ Have to give credit to that. :) (although, it might not make _too_ much sense in there, but it works)**

**Warning: Some _very_ salty language and a crabby/angry Emma. You have been warned.**

* * *

Emma stirred underneath the covers, the light streaming from her window hit her square in the face and woke the blonde up. Prematurely, she thought with a yawn. Her alarm hadn't gone off yet.

Groaning, she tossed onto her other side and patted around her mattress groggily in search of her phone. She might as well see how much more time she had left to sleep. With her luck, she'd only have five or less minutes. Hand coming into contact with the mobile device, she quickly woke it up and stared at the screen through tired eyes.

Then she shot bolt upright with the comforters flying off to the side of her. What the hell happened to her alarm? Her phone had indicated that it was a mere fifteen minutes before school started. _Fifteen minutes_ to get ready _and_ walk to the school._ In this weather._

It was in the middle of November. The week was half over, although Emma just wished that it would be over already. The only reason why she seemed to look forward to each day was for the lunch period that she spent with Ms. Mills. Everyone else and every other class could go suck one for all she cared. At least, that was her thoughts this morning. It wasn't going to be a good day, and Emma could tell already. Who the hell knows what else they're supposed to be doing in her classes. Probably nothing fun and everything boring.

Although, that would have been the least of Emma's worries in the next few minutes as she scrambled to get her clothes on for the school day. She wondered why the hell Mary Margaret hadn't woken her up, yet. Surely the schoolteacher would make sure her daughter was up for the day before she left? Unless she figured that Emma decided to sleep in this morning.

But the blonde hadn't planned that. Her phone was just an asshole and decided not to inform her to wake up this morning. Damned technology.

Damn herself. She probably forgot to set the alarm last night. After all, she _had_ stayed up quite late trying to finish up her writing assignment for creative writing. Procrastination was never a good thing for Emma. When she pushed things aside, they were pushed aside and forgotten until someone, or herself, reminded her that it was needed to be done by the next day. And, boy, had she not pushed this paper aside, she wouldn't have gone to bed passed… God, when _did_ she go to bed? It was well passed two in the morning, she knew for sure. Then she had major difficulties falling asleep, although, what else is new?  
Emma _always_ had troubles falling asleep and tended to lay in bed anywhere from twenty minutes to five hours, depending on how many things she had on her mind. And last night she had quite a few thoughts running through her brain, like how she hoped her story hadn't sucked in the haste that she wrote it, or how she completely missed the way Ms. Mills wore her black-framed glasses sometimes.

Suffice it to say, she hadn't gotten much sleep and now she was one crabby teenager. With sleep-crusted eyes, she trudged down the stairs of the loft and headed for the front door. She didn't see Mary Margaret on her way out. She must have left early again. Damn. Emma wished the brunette wouldn't have or else the blonde would be at school by now.

Which didn't sound too appealing, Emma thought as she walked down the street towards the school. She could sure as hell use the time away from all the students buzzing around in her way. God, did she hate that. They _never_ moved when she wanted them to and they walked so agonizingly _slow_ through the halls. Just like the herd of students in front of her now. Sometimes she wished she were a sheepdog and they sheep, it would certainly make things a lot easier.

What.

Where the hell are her thoughts right now? With a groan, she headed down the English hallway and straight into Mr. Booth's room. Killian was there in his spot. His blue eyes watching her as she took the spot next to him. It was just about five minutes before the bell and most of the students were in the classroom by now.

Dammit. At least she didn't have to sit through more flirtatious conversations with him this morning. He was a reluctant boy and it really annoyed the hell out of Emma. She had figured he would stop doing these _things_ upon hearing her blurt about the ladies' locker room. But apparently he really did take it as a joke, or at least chose to ignore it.

"You look like the dead." He quirked a brow, addressing the blonde who, apparently looked like the dead. She wouldn't doubt it. She could feel that her bags had bags, and from seeing the dark circles under her eyes this morning, it was true. Her hair was slightly mussed and haphazardly thrown into a messy ponytail. She wore her usual attire, which really could look no different than it had before.  
"I feel like the dead." And, yeah, she did. She felt like she was walking on a cloud most of the time. Her head felt a if it were elsewhere from her exhaustion. God, did she hate being this tired.

"I take it you woke up late?"

"Yup."

"P.E.'s gonna be fun for you."

"Don't remind me."

"We have to _run_."

"I'll probably fall and die on the floor."

_Yawn_. Dammit.

"Don't worry, I'll bring my phone to video you if you do."

"Don't."

"I can see it now."

"Shut up."

"And I shall be your knight in shining armour as I come to your rescue."

_Oh god, he better be joking._

"No."

"And everyone will _swoon_."

"Shut up, Killian." Emma groaned. She really wasn't in the mood for this.

_Bleeeeep!_

The bell rang and Emma nearly had a hard attack. She bolt up in her seat, green eyes wide and body tense. _Holy shit_. She nearly fell out of her chair. Hopefully no one was paying too much attention.

And now Killian was having the time of his life, laughing at her reaction as if his life had depended upon it.

_Him_.

"Don't. Say. A. Word." She grit, burying her head into her arms. Now she was blushing furiously.

_Great._

"Oh..! Oh, shit, Emma…" He was doubling slightly over in his desk. Mr. Booth was glaring at them for the disturbance. "That was so much better… I wish I could have gotten that on video."

"Shut. Up."

"Now you have to fall down in gym."

"For fuck's sake! I am not in the mood for this."

"Emma!" _Shit_.

"Sorry, Mr. Booth." Emma glared at Killian who grinned smugly next to her.

"Do I have to separate you two?" He asked, moving towards them. The entire class was now looking at the two. _Fantastic_.

"Please. Do." Emma mumbled.

"Fine. Go take the spot next to Ava."

Emma obliged and got up from her seat, stumbling slightly over her own feet as she made her way next to her classmate. Well, at least she wouldn't have to sit through _that_ all period.

By the end of third period, Emma had woken up for the most part, although most of her body felt groggy as hell. Her brain was fuzzy, yet she felt slightly alert. It was an odd feeling and the blonde didn't like it. She felt… high. Or so she thought that's how she felt. She usually tended to avoid drugs.

After what had seemed like an eternity, the blonde had finally made it to her fourth period classroom and slumped into her desk at the back. Her body was now on autopilot. It felt like she had no control anymore. From her head to her toes, she felt absolutely numb. Really, she felt like she needed a nap. Maybe she would do that when she got home. But that was highly unlikely. She hated naps. They only made her more tired and left her with an awkward dry mouth.

Her eyes wandered around the quiet room. Most of it was full, but since Ms. Mills was in the room, they remained quiet. How strange they acted around the brunette teacher, Emma thought. They seemed afraid of her. Sure, she sometimes threatened to send them to the office or give them a detention slip if they talked during the wrong time, but come on. The woman was harmless.

She was like a fluffy kitten.

_Yeah._

_Fluffy kitties._

Then her eyes found the raven-haired beauty standing at her podium, patiently waiting for the bell to ring.

_Not a fluffy kitten._

She was a freaking panther.

The way her eyes ate up the classroom as if the students were her prey.

And that sleek, dark hair of hers.

Which looked fluffy-ish today.

Ms. Mills was a fluffy panther kitten, Emma concluded with a nod to herself.

_Fluffy panther kitten?_

She really was out of it today.

_Keep your mouth shut, Swan, before you call your very sexy teacher a fluffy panther kitten._

Because Emma was certain that's exactly what she would do if she were to open her mouth at the moment. Or any moment, because now that damned term won't leave her thoughts. Oh, great. Just do _not_ speak, she kept telling herself.

The bell rang soon enough and Ms. Mills began with:

"Please pass your papers forward from yesterday."

_Duck a fuck._

Did she remember to bring that?

Emma quickly rummaged through her backpack and pulled out her notebook. Relief flooded over her as she found the neatly typed story in one of the pockets. She was smart enough to remember to put that thing in her notebook. Good thing, because she was sure she would have left her head at home if it weren't attached.

Passing that forward, she let her body remain at ease. Today wasn't too bad of a day, despite the fluffy kitten thoughts. They were going good. And that black dress that barely reached Ms. Mills' knees made it all the better.

After the teacher had collected all of the papers, she set those aside and grabbed a fresh stack of papers, and the class nearly let out a collective groan. Or so Emma imagined in her mind. They hated doing in-class work. Well, at least Emma did. But, hey, it was better than nearly falling asleep while watching words fade in and out on the smartboard.

"I have a study guide for you to fill out from this chapter's notes. The test will be on Friday. Tomorrow we shall go over the study guide as a class. That does not mean that you do not do the work because I _will_ be checking them before we continue. If you feel so inclined as to not do it, you will sit in the hallway and work on it until we are finished." And so she started to pass the papers out to each row. After she had finished, she collected the papers from the class's previous assignment and headed towards her desk. More than likely to check them, Emma thought in the most obvious way.

Emma collected her paper and stared at the questions. There just seemed to be so many. She loved Ms. Mills as a teacher dearly, but she could just be a bit of a pain (a loveable one, mind you) when it came to homework.

Abiding like a good citizen and student, Emma began answering the questions with ease, trying her best to ignore the talking boys next to her. They were 'whispering', if you could call barely hushed voices whispering. She didn't care about that, it was disinteresting anyhow.

And then, in the corner of her eye, she saw Ms. Mills look up at the talking students and cleared her throat as a warning. They hushed immediately. Content, the teacher went back to reading the first story on the stack.

Then they began to talk again not five minutes later. Emma rolled her eyes, completely used to not being able to work in silence. There was always at least _some_ group that talked during work time in every class. But in this one, it was quite rare since Ms. Mills had made it clear that she didn't like the disturbance. She wanted everyone to get their work done.

And so she stood. Emma parted her gaze from the paper and watched as the brunette made her way over to the two students, an eyebrow quirked and hands planted firmly on one of the desks. This immediately caught the boys' attention and they looked up just as the teacher spoke in one of her most threatening (and might Emma add her most sexiest) voice.

"If I need to remind you to stay quiet during work time one more time, I will write the both of you up an office referral. I recommend that you remain quiet and get to work. I know that you cannot afford another zero."

"We will." One of the boys said.

"Thank you." She narrowed her eyes at the two of them before heading back over to her desk, leaving a trail of her spicy perfume in her wake. And _oh_, did she smell good, Emma thought.

As soon as Ms. Mills was out of what they thought was earshot, the second boy mumbled to his friend.

"She's such a fucking cunt. No wonder why no one likes her."

It took Emma a moment to register what he had said, but as soon as she knew figured out just what he was saying, she was about to go into full-on Donkey Kong mode and bring out a can of whoop ass on them.

_But_, she had to remain still. She couldn't come to Ms. Mills' defenses without question from, well, any of them. It wasn't in her place to do such a thing, but god, what he said just made her blood boil. She could easily imagine mutilating his sorry ass, ripping each limb off ever so slowly...

"I know," the other readily agreed and Emma kept her ears open.

If they _did_ continue to insult the teacher, she didn't know how long she could keep calm before she really did break.

And the boy continued. "I don't understand why they had to move us to _her_ class. It's just a guaranteed failure."

That wasn't _so_ bad…

"She shouldn't even be a teacher. They don't call her a bitch for nothing. I bet she likes to fail all her students on purpose just to fuck them up and laugh as their parents whoop their asses for getting an F."

"Fucking probably. They should have fired her worthless ass instead of giving her _another_ fucking class. What the hell were they thinking? 'Yes. Let's set up an _entire_ class that's doomed to failure.'"

Emma grit her teeth, seething with anger now. Oh, god, they were about to unleash the Motherfucking Swan Beast.

"Like I said. She's just a fucking cunt and she doesn't deserve this job. Clearly she doesn't know what the fuck she's doing. Bitch needs to get laid or something."

That was it. That was the last straw. Emma just couldn't take it anymore. Normally she wouldn't get involved in other people's conversations, but when they constantly insulted a great teacher that was really trying her best, they were just done fucked.

"That's it!" Emma nearly screamed, her fist meeting the desk. "Would you just fucking stop?! Shut the fuck up about her! She's the best goddamn teacher in this fucking school. It's not my fucking fault that you're just so goddamn _stupid_! Maybe the problem isn't _her_, but _you_!" She was standing now, her face inches from the boy's that had been closest to her. "You can just crawl back under that fucking rock that you live under with your pathetic asswipe of a friend and stop insulting somebody that is _clearly_ better than you. Both of you can go _fuck_ yourselves, because with a mouth like that, I highly doubt that _you'd_ get anything else better than your own hand, you fucking…_ fucking twats_!"

"Emma Swan!" The blonde winced at the husky, but firm, voice behind her. Ms. Mills had now stood from her desk, chocolate brown eyes staring sharply at her student. The shell-shocked boys had now begun to snicker quietly at the reprimanding.

"I thought you were better than to pick a fight during class. I would like to see you after the period ends." Then she moved to stand in front of the two boys once again, a pad of paper in her hand. "And you two should start getting packed up. You're heading to the office."

"That's not fair!" One of them whined, pointing a finger to Emma. "How come she doesn't get sent down there, too? She verbally abused us for no reason!"

Emma scoffed at him and scowled.

"No arguments or I will see to it that you get detention as well." Ms. Mills ripped the papers from their pad and handed them to the boys. "Now, get going."

"You really _are_ a fucking cunt." The second spat, ripping the paper from his teacher's grasp.

And something in Emma just _broke_.

"You fucking know what, you rude prick?! Fuck yo mama!... Fuck yo sista!... Fuck yo _grandma_!... And most of all… _FUCK YOU_!" The next thing she knew, she was throwing her fist in the air, knocking it against the teenage boy's jaw with a loud _crack!_

Ms. Mills now had a grip around Emma, her arms encircling the blonde, trapping her arms.

"_Emma!_"

"You fucking psycho bitch! Fuck you and your bitch _girlfriend_!" The boy cried, holding his jaw as his friend grabbed their things.

"Go to office. _Now!_" The teacher demanded, shooting them daggers as she struggled to hold the squirming Emma.

Despite being in Ms. Mills' arms (like she had dreamed upon first seeing her), Emma continued to struggle. She really wanted to just _strangle_ that asshole for saying that about their teacher. All sense about _everything_ just left. She didn't think after that. She just _couldn't_. The woman was insecure enough about what other's thought of her, and when they so directly had to state those _things_, she just could _not_.

After the two boys left, did Ms. Mills finally release Emma from her grip. All things moral came flooding back into Emma's adrenaline-filled brain. She wanted to cry. Perhaps not literally, but she felt the need. She broke. She let it show how much she really did care about Ms. Mills.

Hopefully the teacher wouldn't say anything about that. Maybe she would take if from their sort of bond that they had formed during their lunches. _Fuck_. Hopefully she would still _want_ to have lunch with Emma after that little scene.

"Meet me in the hall, please." She said quietly to Emma before smoothing out her dress, heading towards the front of the room.

Emma obliged and headed to the hall as Ms. Mills had told the class to continue working and that they would have time tomorrow to work on the study guide since the disturbance had left most of the class watching the scene.

The blonde leaned against one of the lockers next to the classroom, her head pounding and her hand throbbing. She probably needs ice on that. She'd probably be heading to the office anyways, so it didn't matter.

The sound of the door opening told Emma that Ms. Mills had joined her. If that weren't enough, the sound of her heels clicking on the floor gave her away. The blonde pushed herself away from the lockers and readied herself.

"I don't want to send you to the office, Emma, you know that. But I have to." She looked at the blonde, her eyes were slightly shimmering and Emma swore she saw _something_ in there. It was something rare for her to see, but not exactly foreign.

"I know. I understand. It's my fault, anyways." Emma shrugged, wincing slightly as she held onto her bruised hand. That had caused the brunette to look down and frown.

"You should get ice for that."

"Yeah."

"Go to the office, okay?" Her voice was soft. She had taken the usual authoritative tone out. It was so weird how she spoke so differently to Emma. Of course, the blonde wasn't complaining.

"Yeah, I will. Do I need to grab my stuff?"

"You'll be in there for the rest of the period, I'm sure. There isn't much time left." Ms. Mills slightly tilted her head. "You can leave your items in the room. I'll see you for lunch."  
Emma nodded, trying to hide the smile that threatened to appear on her lips. "Alright."

Then she headed down the hall towards the office. She could feel those whisky eyes on her, as if they were boring through her skin. It gave her goosebumps.

She was able to leave the office after the bell rang for lunch. Emma had gotten detention after school for the rest of the week and then some. But it was totally worth it, she thought. She was able to defend Ms. Mills' dignity when she knew other people wouldn't. She was rather proud of herself and she talked her way out of suspension.

Despite Mr. Gold's affinity to be _creepy as fuck_, he seemed to have a soft spot for Ms. Mills, and upon realizing why Emma had exactly punched that boy and screamed several profanities, she had him wrapped. It was a good day, she thought, despite having gotten up late and being tired as hell. She felt _fucking pumped_. She felt like she could take down Godzilla.

And soon she was in Ms. Mills' classroom again. Her bag and papers still where she had left them. The brunette teacher was typing furiously at her keyboard, and what a sight. Emma stared at her for a moment, and she _really_ soaked her up.

Ms. Mills had her plum lips pursed, the lower one slightly tucked into her mouth as she nibbled at it, her fingers clacking at the keys on the keyboard. Her sharp, brown eyes were focused on the flat, computer screen. And, _oh_, she was wearing those glasses again. They were slid halfway down her nose and the face she pulled just looked so adorable.

Adorable?

Emma flushed slightly at her thoughts and pulled her chair over to Ms. Mills' desk once again. The teacher seemed to have not taken notice, or at least she didn't show it if she had, and continued to type away. Then, as if on cue, she stopped and turned to face Emma. The glasses were now in her hand, which had then been placed on the desk next to a stack of papers.

"Ms. Swan," she addressed, her voice firm and Emma nearly shit herself. Maybe she really _did_ fuck up after all.

Then, suddenly, a smile broke across the teacher's face. "Thank you."

"Wh-what?" Emma blinked, confused for a moment. She had _not_ been expecting that. But, then again, she had always expected the worst outcome for each situation.

"Thank you. I heard what… they said." Now she began to nibble on her lower lip, eating away the lipstick there. "And… thank you for standing up for me. Really, Emma, I am forever grateful. I… I can try to talk with Mr. Gold about alleviating some of your punishment."

"No, it's fine. I got what I deserved. Anyways, it's not as bad as you think." Emma shrugged, a grin of her own had found its way upon her pale lips. "But thank you for trying."

Ms. Mills stared at her for a moment, and Emma swore she was going to cry, but she didn't. She straightened herself, a watery smile on her plump lips. "No one has ever done that for me. I've heard these students throw insults at me, both directly and indirectly, and no one ever stood up… for me. I can't do it myself because they're students. _My_ students and I have to act professionally. But the way you stood up for me today. It really…" she trailed off and Emma didn't need for her to continue. What she said was enough to make Emma's entire school year. Her heart just expanded in her chest as pride ripped through her.

She was pretty sure she was glowing.

"Of course, Ms. Mills… I mean, those students are assholes. They don't know spit. Half the time they don't think about what they say and how it could affect someone." Emma said quietly. "And since you can't retaliate, they just think that you don't care, so they can get away with it. I know I probably shouldn't have gone as far as I did, I must admit, but, hey… I'd probably do it again in a heartbeat. Someone needed to speak on your behalf and stand up to those bullies."

And then she's almost choking on that spicy scent of Ms. Mills' perfume when she's engulfed in her arms. It took Emma a moment to register what was happening, and even longer to respond. Soon enough, her own arms wrapped around the brunette and she felt at home.  
She was soft. And warm. And her hair smelled like apples.

Emma marveled in the hug, hoping that it wouldn't end any time soon. It was so very nice and so much better than the restrain embrace from earlier. And it was so funny how Emma felt when being in her arms. She felt all warm and fuzzy, like she was sitting in front of the fireplace during winter with a fluffy blanket and a cup of cinnamon cocoa. It was her version of _home_. And that was slightly terrifying. Or really terrifying. The blonde couldn't decide and right now, she didn't care.

But the embrace had to end. Ms. Mills pulled away to be met with a stupid beaming grin from Emma. She was quite sure she looked like an idiot, but that was fine. She didn't care. She just got hugged by Regina Mills. And it was nice. It smelled like apple pie. And she was _the_ fluffy panther kitten.

"How about lunch?" Ms. Mills murmured, eyeing Emma's bag.

"Oh, right! Lunch. I'm hungry. You must be hungry." the blonde flustered slightly and reached down to open up her bag once again to pull out the paper sack.

But she was met with nothing but her calculator and a small reading book.

Where was lunch?

"Lunch?" she whined, pointing to her bag helplessly. "I got up late and totally forgot to pick up lunch! Shit. I'm stupid."

"Hey, Emma." Ms. Mills frowned. "No, you aren't. You're not stupid, dear. Everyone makes mistakes."

"But now we're both out a lunch."

"We don't have to be." The teacher rolled her chair back and leaned forward to grab her purse from underneath the desk. After a minute of rummaging through it, she pulled out her wallet. "Lunch can be on me. After all, you're something like my White Knight." she offered Emma a smile before standing. "I can head to the school store and pick us up something there. What would you like?"

"Can't I just come with you?" Emma murmured, standing as well. She felt her stomach grumble, which had ultimately caused her to blush.

"If you feel so inclined to. But, do just give me the items after picking them out." She gestured towards the door before heading across the class, Emma trailing behind her.

"Want me to, like, point at things? I don't know if it's appropriate for teachers to buy their students a lunch." she said, trying to keep up with Ms. Mills' long strides.

"I do not mind what they think. You did something for me today, and it's something that I am forever grateful for…" she tried to find the right words, and Emma had a flutter of hope in her stomach that maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with more than just gratitude.

"Okay." Emma nodded and smiled softly, following Ms. Mills into the school store. She looked around the small room, her green eyes eating up the different food products on the makeshift shelves and aisles, and god, everything looked good. She didn't know what to get, but she also didn't want to get too much or something too expensive. The blonde would feel too selfish for that since her brunette teacher was willing to buy her the meal.

"Anything look good to you?" A deep voice sounded beside her.

"Everything," she replied, looking up into brown eyes. "But I don't want to spend a lot of your money… so, like… string cheese would be enough. They're, like, fifty cents."

"Emma," she heard the woman sigh softly and shake her head. A smirk was on her lips.

"You need to pick something more than that or I will get you a five dollar lunchable." She pointed to one of the refrigerators.

"No, thanks… Uh," the blonde bit her lip and chose a bag of potato chips. "Done."

"Is that all?" Ms. Mills quirked an eyebrow at the item in her hand. "That's hardly a healthy meal, Emma. Why not get an apple? There are sandwiches as well." And to emphasize her point, she grabbed a small sub sandwich from the refrigerator as well as an apple from the basket by the checkout counter. Then, suddenly, she grabbed another sandwich and another apple before pointing to a bag of baked chips. "Mind grabbing that for me?"

"Um…" Emma nodded and grabbed the desired bag, watching as the teacher sauntered over to the drinks.

"Would you like something from here?" Emma was about to shake her head, but the teacher gave her a wry look. "Grab two waters and bring them to the counter."

Then she left Emma to her own, grabbing the bottles before following behind Ms. Mills again. She dropped the items onto the counter and blinked.

"Are you sure we've got enough time to eat all of this?" she asked, pointing to the now-bagged items that the volunteer cashier handed to the brunette.

But the woman didn't say anything as she merely walked out of the store, leaving Emma to follow her once more.

It wasn't until they had arrived back into the classroom and unpacked their lunches did Ms. Mills finally speak.  
"Depends on how fast you eat."

And the words just seemed so random to Emma because, yup, she forgot the question that she had asked not five minutes prior.

"Excuse me?"

"You asked if we had enough time to eat all of this. It depends on how fast you eat, or what you do eat." she eyed Emma's meal skeptically, her eyes focused on the fruit.

"Are you worried that I won't eat the apple?" Emma giggled softly and picked up the honeycrisp apple, then polished it on her shirt before taking a large bite out of it. "Mmm is good." she spoke through the mouthful of food.

Ms. Mills gave her a disapproving look before cleaning her own apple to eat. "They usually are, dear."

"Do you like apples? I mean, _really_ like them?" Emma tilted her head. Belle had said something about the teacher's always having an apple on her desk. Typical cliche.

"More than you know." The brunette grinned, taking another bite out of her apple. And, holy shit, the twinkle in her eyes told Emma that she was talking about more than just apples. But… what the hell type of innuendo would that be? And would Ms. Mills _intentionally_ say something like that? Or offer that look in her eyes? Maybe Emma had just been seeing things. Perhaps she was a little _too_ hopeful.

"I enjoy all different types. I enjoy the Red Delicious ones the most. They're sweet." Ms. Mills grinned innocently enough, but that little pink tongue of hers darted out to lick the apple's juices from her lips.

Emma watched her every movement, a blush crawling its way onto her cheeks. "Y-yeah. I like them, too."

The brunette teacher looked over to Emma and smiled widely. "Good. I have a tree of them in my backyard. I could bring some for you, if you wish. There are so many, I hardly know what to do with them all. I try to make as many pies, tarts, turnovers, or try to incorporate them into every meal as I can, but it gets tiring after a while."

It took Emma a moment before her brain had processed what the teacher was telling her. She was more tired than, she thought, and the distraction of Ms. Mills' lips didn't help any towards her concentration.

"Emma?" Ms. Mills looked at her with a frown, concern creasing the barely visible lines in her face.

"Oh, yeah, pie sounds good." she mumbled, looking to the hand that had found its way onto her knee.

"Are you sure you are alright, dear? You seem… out of it."

"Yeah. I mean, I didn't get much sleep. I'm just tired, is all." Emma shrugged as if it were nothing. Her forest green gaze slid up to meet her teacher's. "What were you saying before about pie?"

"Apples, dear. I was speaking about apples. I wanted to know if you were interested in my bringing some for you, since I have so many." She giggled for a moment before taking a bite of her sandwich which she had unwrapped some time during Emma's little adventure into outer space.

The blonde watched her once again. She took such dainty and delicate bites from the sub like she feared it would attack her if she were to dare take a larger nibble. Her jaw worked not as regally, although she made it look so goddamn rich with her lips pressing together as she chewed. That woman was all kinds of perfect and she was beautiful, even as she ate the meat-filled sandwich.

"Oh. Yeah. I mean, that would be nice." Emma grinned, shaking her head slightly to clear her mind. Really, she needed to stop staring at the teacher. She was quite sure Ms. Mills could feel her just… staring. It was probably uncomfortable. "I like apples and my parents like 'em, too."

"Then I shall bring some for you tomorrow. I have _bowls_ just lying around the house." she shook her head and took another bite.

Then Emma felt her stomach growl, demanding it be fed. She nearly forgot about eating for a moment there. She really was out of it. Holy hell. Quickly, she opened her bag of potato chips and popped one into her mouth.

"How is your hand, dear?" Ms. Mills' eyes lowered to the blonde's hand, which was now wrapped up. She had ice on it for about five minutes before growing tired of holding the damn pack to her hand. She was already out one hand, she didn't need to lose the other for the rest of the day.

"It still hurts, but I'll live." She shrugged. "I've had it happen before."

"You have?" There was a frown on that pretty face of hers and it made Emma's heart sink, causing her to frown in return.

"Yeah. It can be a fight for survival sometimes in those homes." Emma avoided her teacher's stare and, instead, took interest in the wrap around her knuckles. She was clamming up again and she knew it. It was hard sometimes to just spill out things from her past. The first time was hell enough. She wanted to avoid revisiting those memories at all cost.

"Oh, Emma," she heard the brunette's voice, which had been nothing but a mere whisper.

"Don't feel sorry for me or anything. It's in the past and I'd really rather not talk about it." And that's all that Ms. Mills was going to get out of her. At least for now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate anything."  
"It's okay." Emma shrugged, her eyes glancing at the clock. Five minutes. So she started to pack up her uneaten food. She knew she should have eaten something, but her mind was elsewhere, and right now, she didn't feel so hungry anymore.

Ms. Mills watched her with a curious gaze, her eyes sparkling with a hilt of sadness. "I suppose this is until tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Emma gave her her best smile, making it wide and beaming. "Thank you for the lunch. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem at all, especially after what you had done for me." She shot Emma a grin before pausing and bending down to reach underneath her desk. "I really shouldn't give you these, but…" she placed two, small white tablets into the palm of Emma's hand. "These are for your hand. It's the least that I can do, dear."

"Thanks," the blonde popped the pills into her mouth, swallowing them dry. This woman was truly a sweetheart. She had no idea why people would treat her so badly when she really didn't have a single evil bone in her body. She was just doing her job. Too bad the others didn't take the time to get to know her like Emma did. Perhaps, then, they would change their view on her.

Emma stood up now, but remained with her gaze locked on Ms. Mills'. She debated whether or not to take that step forward and give her an appreciative hug. The blonde wasn't quite sure how she would react, and it was quite risky. And not to mention, weird. Even though they had embraced earlier. It felt different, and honestly, Emma wasn't used to showing such affection. So she took a step back and bowed her head.  
"Thank you, once again, for lunch. Uh.." she gestured her head towards the door as the bell finally rang. "I appreciate everything."

"Of course, Emma…" she watched the blonde cross the room. "Are you sure you're going to be okay, though?"

"Yeah, these pills should help."

"Alright… If you're sure. I wish you a good day, dear."

"Thanks." Emma grinned shyly and pushed the door open. "_You_ have a good day as well, and don't let anyone get you down. No matter what they say, you are a nice person. An incredible woman. They just don't see that because they don't want to open their eyes. They just accept lies that they're fed. And call me in if they start talking smack about you because I still have another can of whoop-ass ready."

"Emma…" Ms. Mills' complexion had completely softened now. She looked so different and so very much younger, if that were possible. Her chocolate orbs twinkled in the light as her plump lips parted slightly.

"I-I have to go." And so Emma did, quickly rushing out of the room. Whatever that look was just scared the shit out of the teenager and she didn't know if she could handle what would have come if she stayed. Maybe it would have been nothing. Maybe something. She didn't know and she wouldn't soon find out. She did what she did best and fled.


	8. Library and Book Talk

**A/N: I would like to thank you all so very much for the lovely reviews! Here's another chapter up and ready for you to read! I do hope you enjoy, and please, tell me what you think! **

* * *

Emma's mind was a whirl of emotions by the end of her journey to Mr. Glass's classroom. She felt terribly bad about what she had done, she concluded. Hopefully Ms. Mills didn't construct her behaviour in a negative way. Although, the blonde wouldn't exactly blame her if she had. After all, she left without another word upon speaking her thoughts, and releasing more information about how she felt towards the brunette. The last thing that she wanted to do was make the English teacher feel uncomfortable. She felt, though, that she had gotten too far, and went beyond where she had originally intended upon sitting with her teacher during lunch hour.

She knew how the rest of her day was going to be by just this moment, or so she thought as she slid into her seat next to Belle. Emma's mind was going to be working over the subject for the rest of the day, contemplating different outcomes for the day's events. Because if she did _this_ differently, or had done _that_ a different way, or perhaps handled a situation in an entirely different manner, she might not be so goddamn distracted. Belle was saying something beside her, but Emma wasn't paying attention.

After all of the events of the day, it all ended on just _one_ simple image. One _small_ scene that Emma just _could not_, for the life of her, get out of her head. After all, it was the entire reason why she had fled the room prematurely. And for some reason, it just scared the hell out of her. Something inside of her just sparked and told her to get away. Something was just not _right_ about _any_ of it. That look on Ms. Mills' visage had Emma completely taken aback. The reason was slowly coming to the blonde the more she gave thought about that particular moment.

The look in the brunette's eyes had only been given to Emma twice in her life, and as independent and isolated as her life had been without the usual general kindness, it was quite rare. So, that it had happened again only left the blonde baffled as to _why_ Ms. Mills would give her such a look.

The first time she received such a look of admiration was when she was old enough to remember it. She was two. Of course, many would say that it would be such an impossibility to remember something, especially a _look_, at such a young age. And, yes, it was uncanny, but Emma remembered it. Around that very age were the years that she had remembered the most. Every other year of her childhood had been a blur. But then, at _that_ age, she remembered most vividly. At _that_ time, she was loved. It was the first time that she had ever been loved- or so she thought since her parents _had_ given her up- and it was the last time. That was, until she had met the Nolans. That would be the second time she would have received such a look of love and admiration as a brand new addition to a small, young family.

And, now, she had seen such a similar look on Ms. Mills' face after she had said those words. Perhaps it wasn't love, but it was enough to scare the hell out of Emma. It had happened when she had first had a connection with the Nolans. That look shot dread throughout her entire body and she wanted to just turn and flee. And, of course, she had. She escaped to her _own_ bedroom.

The reason for that being was quite a simple, yet so complex, explanation. Being loved and showing love was just not something Emma was used to. But there were the people in her life that drew these feelings out of her and pushed towards her that showed that she was indeed capable of loving and being loved.

But her feet weren't on steady ground. She still hadn't trusted _any_ of it. And the blame would be pushed to the very first family that she had been fostered by. That sweet, young couple with smiling faces and loving eyes. They gave Emma every ounce of their love, which the little girl would remember like any child should. But that was not Emma's case. She remembered, alright, but she remembered for entirely different reasons. That family just _tossed her aside_ like some old toy that a child didn't want to play with anymore after receiving a brand new one. The woman got pregnant, and Emma still didn't quite understand why, but they decided to _send her back_. Even at three, Emma knew it wasn't right, and even if she hadn't, the kids at the orphanage teased her every single day until she _knew_ that it wasn't. Until she _knew_ that she wasn't _wanted_. She was a reject. She would _never_ be loved. And Emma grew up believing that.

The very next home she was sent to proved such to her. The wife was never around and the husband was a drunk, who had gambled away the money that was supposed to go towards the foster children. They didn't love her. They never loved her. And Emma knew that, even with a young mind. She wasn't good enough, and the man had made a constant reminder of that every time she did something wrong, or didn't do a chore correctly. She had been sent back to the teasing older kids just shy of a year later.

Her life consisted of just that, being sent into homes until they found that she wasn't good enough, and sent her back. That was, until she had arrived into this town and was taken under the Nolan's wings. It wasn't the longest she had lived in one particular home, but it was one that she was comfortable in. Of course, she had expected the worst and had been waiting to be sent back for being an unlovable kid once again, but to her surprise, they treated her like an actual human being and had shown her as much love as they could. Sometimes Emma thought it was too much, since they smothered her with hugs and constant reminders of how much they loved her. But, Emma soon had grown used to the affection from those two, and slowly began to appreciate it to its full capacity.

Every single day, though, Emma was always on edge. She expected that one of these days, the two would wake up and realize that they don't actually love her and they never had. And that they would send her back to bounce from house to house until she was eighteen.

The overall intensity of her fears had dissipated and those irrational thoughts only happened on occasion- particularly when she was having a bad day. But the Nolans always banished her fears with a gesture of kindness and of love.

And now that she had seen this look in Ms. Mills' eyes- on her face- all of Emma's fears had come rushing back and hit her like a freight train. She was brought back to that very first family and all of the memories following. She was stuck on that day that the social worker had come to pick her up, as well as the bags with her belongings in it. Little Emma hadn't known what was going on at the time and when she looked out the window towards the couple that didn't even give her a second glance, she had assumed she wasn't going to be back. It took all of the cogs in her brain to do very little spinning before she realized that, yeah, she wasn't going back because the way they had been painting her room and replacing her things had been implication enough.

She was angry before she was sad. Her anger based upon how they could just let her go like that and how they never even _bothered_ to look at her as she was driven away. And the sadness that had soon followed were encompassed by the same reasons, as well as another. Did they ever love her? More questions were asked to herself as she grew when the kids at the orphanage had taken their own grief out on her. Was she really unlovable? Was she really unworthy of love? Was she… useless?

Those questions- to this day- she still asks herself. They were much like scars. At first, they cut so deep and had been so painful to learn, but as time went on, the words weren't as foreign nor effective as they had been. They only left a dull sadness within her aura and gave her an unforgettable mark.

That's why she was so terrified. Because how if, yeah, Ms. Mills did feel something for her- whether romantically (which was unlikely, she thought) or not- she would only be filled with a certain gnawing dread in the pit of her stomach and the voices of the foster children chanting like distant ghosts in her ears. What if the teacher had decided she really wasn't worth the effort? That, perhaps, she wasn't worth all the time that they had been spent talking and that it would just be better to either move on to another, or ditch her altogether, because she was getting quite boring. Or maybe she was getting too bothersome? Or even to the point of being a constant nuisance?

Of course, those were Emma's fears talking and the blonde couldn't be sure what exactly the teacher would think, come the future. She tried her best not to think about it, knowing that it would only ruin the time that she _did_ have. But the more time that she had with the teacher would only cause more pain later on. Emma had seriously debated on whether or not to face the woman again. But that was rather hard when she had her as a teacher. _No_, she couldn't do that.

Right now, Emma just needed to clear her mind. She needed to _not_ think about this. At least not for a few hours. The blonde was starting to get a headache with all of these thoughts consuming her. She was drowning and there was no way to escape the sea of worry in her head.

"Are you sure that you're alright, Emma?" Belle asked the blonde quietly.  
Emma looked up from her current project in the art room. She hadn't said much to her friend last period, and for most of this one, since the class was nearing its end. She had only responded with a few grunts or short one-worded responses- both positive and negative- when her friend had asked her questions. The petite brunette must have figured that the blonde wasn't in the talking mood, for she had backed away from speaking to focus on class.

"Yeah," she finally answered. "I'm just thinking, I guess. I have a lot on my mind."

"It seems like it." Belle didn't pry. Instead, she gestured towards Emma's wrapped knuckles. "I've been wondering about that, but every time I asked you, you just grunted at me."

"Oh. Sorry." Emma self-consciously hid her hand.

"What happened?"

"Got into a fight." she murmured vaguely. She wasn't about to tell Belle the reason _why_ and the other teenager seemed to have known that, because she only nodded. She knew that she wasn't going to get any more than that out of her blonde friend.

"Did you win?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, since they ran out after I punched 'em." Emma only shrugged, playing with a strand of her hair. "I'm a badass, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. You're tough, Emma." Belle gave her a friendly smile and lightly nudged the blonde with her shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

"You don't even know why I did it."

"Yeah, but you won. That's something to be proud of." The brunette shrugged. "And even if you didn't, I'd still be proud of you because you were brave enough to fight whoever that was. They must have done _something_ to piss you off. You wouldn't risk anything for no good reason. You stood up for something that you believe in. I'm proud of that."

Emma gave Belle a watery smile. Boy, was she glad that she could handle her emotions well, because if not, she'd be leaking water works all over the place by now. Belle was a great friend, despite her snoopy tendencies. She was one of those people that, once friends with someone, would be a genuine friend and would take pride in their companions. The brunette always seemed to know the right thing to say, of course, that was only when she really wanted to say it. She reminded her of Ruby, sometimes, and she suspected that the waitress had rubbed off on her with the general snarky and teasing tendencies.

But Belle was booksmart and she had a whole different kind of wisdom that Emma could sometimes stare in awe at. Sometimes she even forgot that the brunette was only her own age, a goddamn teenager. It was those wise thoughts that brought the two together. That, and the library that they had both been visiting at the time. It had been a particular down day for Emma and Belle had taken notice to the solemn way the blonde had sat alone at a table, books surrounding her. They had talked and hit it off quite well, especially once Belle had given Emma her first pep-talk.

And here she was again, cheering her up like she always did. Sometimes she felt that she wasn't enough for Belle, but the brunette had always told her not to mind that. Emma's friendship was enough. It baffled the blonde, for she was never used to such sincerity, but, just as she had with the Nolans, she soon learned to accept it.

"Thanks, Belle." Emma said quietly. "You really are a great friend. I don't deserve you as one, honestly."

"Oh, don't think that, Em!" Those words had caused a frown to take place on Belle's face. "You deserve far better than me as a friend. Now, look… Your thoughts are dragging you down again, yes? Why don't you go to the library after school? I know how much reading helps you. You need it."

The blonde tilted her head. She hadn't thought of that. Well, not recently, anyhow. Going to the library sounded like a dream. She loved to go there and forget about reality as she got lost in books. It always seemed to help ease her mind.  
"Yeah, I need that. Thanks, Belle. You know just what to say." Emma smiled and hugged the other girl tightly. She rarely ever hugged anyone, and when she did, she had no other words to show her gratitude. Belle knew this and gratefully accepted the hug.

"That's what friends are for, Em." She returned the smile and moved away once Emma had released her. "Now, go. I'll clean your things up for you."

"You don't have to do that." Emma frowned, her fingers fumbling with a pencil on the table. "I can stay the extra five minutes."

"Emma." Her voice was stern and showed no room for argument. Emma could only oblige because her friend has done so much for her already and she couldn't sit here and argue when she had offered to do something so kind.

"Fine… But I owe you." The blonde popped up from her seat, grabbing her bag as she stood. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay." Belle chuckled softly and nodded.

"Alright…" And then Emma left the room, one foot in front of the other, as fast as she could. Instead of the worrisome thoughts of today, she had been thinking about which book that she should read first. There were so many that she hadn't read yet that sounded quite appealing, but there were also a few favorites that she wanted to reread. Whatever it may be, she would decide upon getting there.

Emma had arrived into the library, which had already ultimately relaxed her. The silence was welcoming and, from that, she knew that this was a brilliant idea. It didn't take long for her to select a few books and find an empty table. There weren't many people here, which made Emma frown. That was quite unfortunate. Books were fascinating and they could take you into a whole different world. But, then again, Emma always loved to escape reality while others lived their lives. She didn't mind. Less noise and more books for her to stuff her nose into.

Once Emma's eyes scanned over the first sentence, she was entranced. Time had seemed to fade away as she read page after page. She always did enjoy a good book, and this one was one of her favorites. She read it every chance that she had and always seemed to ease through it with fresh eyes and a creative imagination.

Being so enthralled by the book, after reading a great chunk of it, she hadn't noticed the pair of black pumps that had stood in front of her table. It wasn't until a husky voice had pulled Emma from her alternate world, did she look up.

"That's one of my favorites."

Wide, green eyes met warm, brown orbs.

"Yeah, it's mine, too. I read it whenever it's in the library."

"You have excellent taste in literature." The other party commented, a soft smile forming on plump lips. "Mind if I join you?"

"I suppose there's no harm in that." Emma shrugged and gestured to the wooden chair across from her. "Take a seat."

"Thank you, dear."

"Of course, Ms. Mills." The blonde offered her a smile in return, anxiously plucking at her sweatshirt as all of the worrisome thoughts had started to return. Goddammit. Perhaps she should just leave before she does something stupid. The woman that had been harassing her thoughts all damn day was now here, in Emma's place of escape, not ten feet in front of her.

"Do you come here often?" She politely asked, looking for a conversation no doubt. The brunette had placed a book in front of her. A title that was foreign to Emma upon taking a glance to the title.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It helps me get my mind off things."

"Reading is a marvelous escape, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Emma fumbled with the pages of her book, eyes drifting across the line that she had left off on. It would be etched in her memory by the end of this.

"Oh! I am so terribly sorry. This was quite rude of me, intruding on you like this." Ms. Mills had frowned, pulling her book closer. "I should leave you to your reading."

"It's alright. I-I was just leaving…" She fibbed, scooting her chair back so she could stand. As she did, she quickly picked her books up. Emma just couldn't do it. She needed to leave before her mind broke. It was so hard to look into that concerned face and not panic once again. How she was ever going to survive another glance towards the woman without every bad thought coming to mind. It may have seemed rather silly, and sure, Emma wanted to laugh, but she also wanted to just _cry_ at the same time. This feeling might not ever go away. It was so hard with the Nolans. Their reassurances helped her- as well as their shows of affection- once they had realized how she had been feeling and that really helped Emma through her fears with them. But that was because they _knew_ those fears. This was Ms. Mills. She _didn't_ know and she _couldn't_ know.

"I understand, dear." The brunette smiled warmly at the blonde, her head inclined to look at her. But Emma didn't miss the look of sorrow in her eyes. "I suppose until tomorrow?"

"Yeah." The blonde nodded tightly before quickly turning to leave so she wouldn't have to feel the guilt of rejecting the brunette. She couldn't handle that look.  
"Goodbye, Emma." she heard behind her, as well as the movement of the chair against the floor.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her collected books against her chest. She couldn't stop seeing_ that face._ Not the one from before in the classroom- although that was still fresh in her memory. No. It was the look of _rejection_ that Ms. Mills had tried so hard to hide, but her eyes had shown it all.

_Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it._

She got halfway towards the front door before she spun around to head back. It was only a few strides towards the table she had been seated at- and where Ms. Mills was still standing- before she had reached it. The look of surprise on the brunette's face and the smile that soon replaced it caused Emma's heart to flutter.

Then begin to pound as the fears and voices flooded her mind.

_You're not worthy._

_You're unlovable._

_No one wants you._

_Don't you see the way they just give up on you?_

"Are you alright, honey?"  
Emma heard the voice break through the others, so familiar and sweet, and so very concerned. She opened her eyes to peer up into brown orbs. Oh, God, what was she going to do? Should she just tell the woman about these thoughts? Should she try to resolve them? Could that even be possible?

"Emma?"

"Y-yeah…" Then she shook her head, slumping back down into her chair. "No."

"No?" The brunette frowned, soon slipping into the spot next to Emma. "What's wrong, dear?"

Emma's only response was a soft grunt that she wasn't sure if Ms. Mills had heard. Her mind was elsewhere by now. She was too conflicted upon whether or not she should tell Ms. Mills. Should she confide her fears into the woman that she had grown quite close to over the past few months? How would she even begin? It was far too difficult and it only made Emma's head whirl, causing her to become lightheaded.

"You're right. Books are a nice escape." she started, turning her body to face her teacher. "I've never told this to anyone. Actually, I haven't really talked about my past to anyone. I've been too afraid to."

Ms. Mills nodded with furrowed brows. She was listening, and by the sharpness in her eyes, she was carefully analyzing every word that Emma had said. She looked so genuinely intrigued, and no doubt would archive all of this.

"Uh…" Emma looked to her hands. How should she start? The library, perhaps? Or should she start from the beginning in hopes that Ms. Mills would catch on? But, then again, the teacher didn't know of any thoughts that ran through Emma's head, so that meant that she didn't know how much the blonde had been scared from earlier that day.

So she began in hopes it would all fit together. Maybe this puzzle that she had been confronted with would be finished by the end of the conversation. She surely hoped so.

"When I was a kid, I discovered a book. It was at one of my foster parents' house, I think it was the third one. I was old enough to read and really grasp things then. But, uh… Well, I was really bored that day. This family wasn't too bad, but there were a couple other kids living there as well, and let me tell you, they weren't the nicest. They never let me play with them, so one day, I decided to explore the house and I stumbled across this bookshelf. It was dusty and I'm sure it hadn't been used in years. There were few books on it, which they had been used as stands for the knickknacks on there.

"But, that's besides the point. There was this book sitting all by itself and that really caught my attention. I grabbed it from the shelf and dusted it off so I could read the title. It was a copy of the one I was reading earlier, actually. So, I went to the room that I shared with one of the family's biological daughters, and hid under my blankets to read this book. I got really interested in it and, for the life of me, could not put that thing down. I never got to finish it, because the daughter told her parents that I stole it from them and then they took it away. Of course, I was quite devastated. It was my temporary trip out of the hell that I lived.

"I knew of a library that was only a few blocks away from the house and went there everyday after school for a few hours. Some of the time, I never read. I just enjoyed the quiet, serene atmosphere and lounged in chairs and couches for hours. But I found some pretty good titles to read, mind you, they were for younger librarian eventually helped me pick out ones that were more advanced, and then, did I _really_ enjoy reading. They were far more intriguing than those…" Emma shook her head and chuckled softly. "Those damn books that inform kids that bears are brown and cats are furry.

"My foster parents got really angry, though, that I went to the library everyday. They accused me of lying when I said that I had went there and assumed that I had been staying out with some friends or something. I never had any, though, but they didn't care. But.. uh… e-eventually, they had social services come and take me back to the orphanage. I started to get used to it, though, because I knew they never loved me in the first place. I never understood why they would take a kid in, only to send them back. It baffles me, honestly."  
The blonde bit her lower lip, avoiding the myriad of emotions flashing across Ms. Mills' visage. She played with the book on her lap for a moment before continuing.

"Ever since then, though, I have kept books with me and used them as a means to escape. I usually visited local libraries for hours on end. Most of the foster parents didn't really care where the hell I was half the time, so I usually stayed until the library closed. I could forget where I was and how hellish my life was, you know?"

Emma closed her eyes, swallowing thickly.

"The kids always told me that I was unworthy and that I could _never_ be loved, because the proof was in being sent back to that damned place. I was scarred with those words and, eventually, I had come to believe them. No one had ever loved me. The only ones that I had _thought_ did… They sent me back. Every time I tried to find hope for myself in searching for the loving smiles and kind eyes only lead to heartache, because I realized that I'm _not_ with them. I am _here_. I'm where I'm not loved." she then paused, backtracked, and corrected herself. "I mean, back then. _Now_, I _am_ loved. And I finally have friends and ones that care for me."

Here it comes. Here's the part that she had dreaded because she didn't know how to explain it if her teacher didn't get where she was heading. Perhaps, she didn't, because that expression was quite unreadable.

"It took me a while." Emma whispered anyways. "It took me a while to believe that they genuinely cared and wanted me. I get so… _terrified_. Every time someone shows the least bit of kindness towards me, I have an absolute _panic_ attack because I am so _very_ afraid of being rejected again. I carry the name 'Swan' as a reminder to never trust anyone and to doubt their love or kindness."

And there she said it. The words had finally left Emma Swan's mouth. Thinking back, she had never said those very words aloud. She had thought of them many, many times, because she knew of her emotions. But she never admitted them, and now that she had- and to someone else- she felt… lighter. A new weight, though, was holding her down. The reaction from Ms. Mills would be the turning point, she knew for sure. It could go one of two ways, and Emma hoped that it would be in the positive direction.

"Emma, I…" Ms. Mills was at a loss for words. Her lips were left parted as her brain tried to come up with a logical response. "I honestly do not know what to say…"

"Yeah…" Emma felt her shoulders slump, but the added weight to her right one made her blink. Her eyes flicked over to spot Ms. Mills' hand on black. Green soon traveled up her arm towards the face that held conflicting emotions.

"To say I know what you've been through would be ignorant, because I do not know. But I do understand, because I had lived a life somewhat similar. A life of solitude and escaped realities in books, that is, without friends nor trust towards others." The older woman's voice held a sort of understanding that allowed Emma's tense muscles to relax. Her eyes met with brown pools and her heart melted. There was a dark, distant emotion that must have been result of remembrance in those eyes, but what overcame them was what made Emma's mind whirl back towards the end of lunch, earlier that day. It was _that_ look that had terrified Emma to no end, but now it gave her an entirely different perspective. It eased her, for an odd reason. Perhaps it was the sincerity in them or what she had said next, because both reassured the blonde to the point of serenity.

"Perhaps it would be quite silly of me to say this, but you can trust me. I would _never_ lead you on in any way and every emotion that I have towards you are nothing but genuine. I hope that you will be able to see that. I have… already opened myself up to you, dear. I can say that I _do_ trust you, Emma. I can only hope the same for you."

"I do…" Emma found herself saying. It was so quiet and slightly hoarse with emotion, but the brunette had heard it with the smile that broke out across her face. "I probably wouldn't have told you this if I didn't. I… It sounds probably stupid, but I was afraid of you earlier. Or, well, at least right before I left, because I saw that _look_ in your eyes. That's why I'm here. I was trying to get all of the negative thoughts out of my head."

"I'm sorry that I had made you feel like that, Emma…" she frowned, the hand on Emma's shoulder moving up to cup the blonde's cheek. "I promise you that I never meant to hurt you."

"I know. It was my own fault. I let my fears get the better of me and I really shouldn't have. I really shouldn't have doubted you." Emma closed her eyes, the warmth of the older woman's hand infused through her and it just felt wonderful. It left her entire body tingling and every fear had left at that moment. "Thank you for listening to me."

"You don't need to thank me, dear." Ms. Mills smiled softly, her thumb lightly caressing Emma's cheek before she had realized what she had been doing. She had quickly pulled her hand away. "I'm willing to listen to whatever you have to say."

"Thank-... Okay." Emma licked her lips subconsciously before leaning into her seat now that the teacher had detached herself.

"What time is it?" The blonde asked after a few moments of silence.

"About six, dear." Ms. Mills looked away from her watch to glance at the blonde. "Do you need to be somewhere?"

"No. I planned on staying until the library closed." Emma shrugged. She didn't know how much time they had spent talking and hoped that she would get enough time to read, or perhaps talk more with the English teacher. "Do _you_ have to be somewhere?"

"Not exactly, dear." The brunette chuckled. "I had only planned on reading at home. But, seeing as to how it's quiet here and I have company, I can stay. If that is alright with you, of course?"

"That's perfectly fine. I'd enjoy the company." Emma's grin was wide, reaching her eyes with ease. "What are you reading?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest…" And Emma swore she could see Ms. Mills blush as she held up the book in her hand. It was a copy of the romance novel "_The Rogue Hunter_". Emma blinked. Romance novel? She hadn't noticed the couple on the cover the first time. It looked like a red and black design from the distance. "It's a guilty pleasure."

"You like… romance novels?"

"Paranormal romance. Vampires and such." Ms. Mills was quick to correct, although the darkening blush on her cheeks was evident to her mortification. "These have an interesting storyline that doesn't just revolve around, well, romance and sex."

Emma smirked. "I've read a series like that before, actually. They have these… shifters in them as well. I'm not going to judge you, you know that? You're allowed to read what you want."

"I… know." But she coughed awkwardly and set the book down. "You've read them before?"

"Yeah. I actually like them, believe it or not. They can be quite humorous, and they aren't really sappy like some romance novels. They have a plot, you know? More meaning to them than, just as you said, sex." It was Emma's turn to blush, but she hid it well. Almost enough to pass it off as rouged cheeks. "What's your series like?"

"Oh, well… The vampires in this aren't exactly… They're genetically engineered and had originated from the lost city of Atlantis…" And that had Emma intrigued. She leaned forward and listened in on how Ms. Mills had explained the series without giving too much away. The blonde definitely had to pick them up some time.

"Wow…"

"Now you can see why I like them."

"I do. Now I have to spend more time at the library, huh?" Emma chuckled softly and reached over to grab the book that Ms. Mills had checked out.

"I suppose you could." The teacher shrugged and Emma could tell she was hiding something. She could see that untold sentence in her eyes. So the blonde stared at her expectantly.

"Or…" she mumbled.  
"I do own the entire series." The teacher shamefully admitted. "But I had lost this book and it was my next one, so I decided to check if the library had a copy."

Emma shook her head, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the expression that Ms. Mills now had on her face. She looked tied from somewhere between pained and embarrassed.

"You… can borrow them if you wish. But I do expect to receive them back how I had given them to you."

"You can trust me. I handle books carefully." Emma smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry."

"I'll bring the first couple with me tomorrow."

"Thanks." The blonde grinned with appreciation, handing the book over to Ms. Mills. "What other genres do you like?"

That question had sparked an entire conversation that had left them with no time to read their books. Ms. Mills had first explained that, besides her guilty pleasure in romance, she did also quite enjoy a good mystery and sometimes horror. But most of the times she picked classics, in which Emma had announced that she enjoyed most of the ones that the brunette had named, except for a few that she hadn't quite heard of. The question was soon reciprocated and Emma said she liked just about every genre as long as it had taken her to a whole new universe and away from the real world.

It wasn't long after until they were discussing their favorite titles, some of which were similar, while others were highly recommended to one another. Emma wasn't sure how it was possible to find someone that had the same fascination in books as she did, but the proof was right there in front of her. She knew that if they were to get into another discussion about books, there was no stopping them. And they probably would have went on for plenty hours more if it weren't for the librarian. She had politely told them that it was closing time, and to their astonishment, they had been talking for three hours straight.

Both obliged the librarian's wishes and left the building with their books in tow. Emma had her own stuffed into her backpack by the time they were outside and standing by the curb.

"I suppose I should really be getting home." Emma mumbled, backing a distance away from the library to catch a peek at the time on the clock tower attached to it.

"I should, as well," the teacher concurred, her hand rummaging around inside of the purse slung onto her arm. She soon pulled out a set of car keys and smiled. "It's quite cold out here, isn't it?"

"Indeed," Emma readily agreed. As if on cue, she felt a shiver course down her spine from the cool night's air. "The only reason why I dislike nighttime. It gets colder."

"It does, indeed." Ms. Mills chuckled. She looked around them before gesturing towards her Mercedes. "Why don't I take you home? It's too cold and late for you to walk alone, don't you think?"

"It's a small town." Emma shrugged and about hit herself for that. Here Ms. Mills was, being polite and offering her a ride home- which would no doubt be much warmer- and she was passing it off like an idiot.

"I wouldn't want you to catch a cold, dear."

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"I insist." And then she flashed that brilliant smile of hers, which made Emma give in with a soft huff at herself.

"Thank you." Emma followed behind the brunette as they headed towards the readily awaiting car. She bit her lip, waiting as Regina had unlocked the doors, and got in. Quickly, she put her seat belt on and waited. "I don't live far from here. It's just a few blocks down. It's that old apartment building."

Ms. Mills nodded and pulled away from the curb to head towards their destination. The only words spoken were Emma's, during the drive, as she gave the directions towards her home. It wasn't long before they had arrived and the brunette put the car into park outside of the building.

"We're here, dear." She turned to look at Emma and the blonde blushed.

Why the hell was she blushing? Perhaps it was for the fact that the brunette had just drove her home. And that they were just sitting there outside her apartment like they were supposed to do something.

"Yeah…" she lamely muttered, unbuckling her belt. "Thank you for the ride. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Emma." Regina offered her a warm smile. They locked on and held each other's gazes for a few seconds, and then Emma found herself leaning forward.

She didn't know what was possessing her to do so, but there she went. The proximity of the two was enclosing and the warmth only grew. She swore she saw the brunette teacher lean in closer as well, and soon enough, they weren't far apart.  
Emma's breath caught in her throat at the closing distance, her green eyes locked on the older woman's tempting lips, and that little pink tongue that came out to lick them. They stayed those few mere inches apart for quite some time and Emma wasn't sure if she was fucking something up right now or not. Her head was raising towards the clouds, she was sure, and the heavy breath she was now having along with the way her heart was fluttering rapidly in her chest did not help any. She was quite sure Ms. Mills could hear it.

Then she heard the faintest of noises escape the brunette's parted lips. Emma wasn't quite sure what that was, and she didn't care, because that had led to what happened next. And what happened next was something that she would never forget.

Both had leaned in to close the space between them. Emma nearly groaned as she felt the older woman's soft lips brush tentatively against her own. Her entire body was buzzing with pleasant shocks and she was sure no kiss had ever felt like this before. This felt almost… magical.

She had confirmed it all upon kissing the woman back, her lips pressing slightly harder against the plump ones in an intimate caress. She heard the faintest noise of pleasure from deep within the brunette's throat once again, and that had made Emma turn into putty. Dear Lord, the sound shot straight to the blonde's core. It was wrong, yes, but did she really care? No.

Then there was a hand snaking through her hair, which she had luckily released from her ponytail just hours beforehand. The feeling of fingers delving between each golden lock caused shivers to course down her spine and pleasant little goosebumps to form on her skin. Her own hand had found purchase on the older woman's right as she leaned in closer, enjoying the close proximity to the fullest it could get in a cramped little car.

She felt a tongue slide across her lips before the two had finally pulled away prematurely, albeit for lack of oxygen. Both stay a close distance with lips parted, breath shallow, and pupils blown wide with desire.

It was Emma who was first to speak, muttering. "Sorry…" because she hadn't known what else to say and didn't exactly trust her mouth in that moment. Her head had felt like it was literally in the clouds.

"Don't be," was the English teacher's breathy response.

Emma's pale lips curled into a helpless smile at those two simple words. She didn't mind at all that they had just kissed. She certainly hope that this didn't come as a problem in the future, but then at the same time, she hoped that it wouldn't be forgotten, either. The blonde knew that she would never be able to forget it.

She tasted like apples and caramel coffee.

It wasn't until the brunette had cleared her throat, did Emma break from her mused thoughts. She pulled her hand from the other woman's hip- in which she had just remembered- and reached for the door handle.

"Thank you… for giving me a ride." Emma whispered, pulling the handle to pop the door open. "Goodnight, I hope you have a good one."

"Any time, dear. And, thank you, Emma. And goodnight, dear." The words were much lighter and airy than they had been all night. And they had made the blonde smile.

That smile hadn't left her lips, even as she reached her bedroom after a few questions from Mary Margaret regarding her trip to the library. The woman never protested her hanging out there for hours on end. It had become something of her thing when she had a busy mind. Her foster mother didn't want to keep her from it, and had learned that it was better to let her go, rather than keep her unhappy and locked up.

"Goodnight, Emma!" she heard both voices chime from downstairs.

"'Night!" she replied, flopping onto her bed.

If there had been any other night that she had dubbed the best, this would easily surpass it. Because this night- _and that very moment_- had been the best in her entire life. Despite the way the day had started, of course, she still didn't really like that bit. But she would do it again if it were to end as it did tonight.

And with a smile spread wide across Emma's face, she closed her eyes and let the darkness take over. Tomorrow was going to be a good day, she was sure. She would float on a cloud the entire time. She couldn't wait to see the English teacher once again. Hopefully slumber would approach quickly.


	9. Regina

**A/N: I would like to start out with a GREAT BIG THANK YOU! Thank you soooo much for all of the positive reviews and messages! I really enjoyed reading them and they really made my day! :D Also, I've read a few requests to write in Regina's POV and I had figured that, after what had happened, it would be appropriate to get inside of her head for a chapter! I did a little switching some time in there to Emma, but it goes back to Regina. I don't know how good this will be. I've been a little too used to writing in Emma's POV now, so I hoped this works out and that you enjoy it!**

**Thank you, and please post a review to tell me what your thoughts are! **

* * *

Regina Mills had watched as the blonde hopped out of her car, a large smile gracing her lips. What they had just done was quite controversial, both towards the outside world and in her own mind. She hadn't known what had compelled her to kiss the younger woman, but now that it was all over and the moment was gone, she was starting to panic.

She had just kissed one of her students.

_She had kissed Emma._

The moral part of her told her that this was all wrong. She really shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have accepted that kiss as if it were a normal thing. Something like this could really get the brunette into trouble if someone were to find out. She was thanking her lucky stars that it was that time of night when most people were home.

The more emotional part of Regina's brain had been on an elated cloud. She knew what was going to happen from the time Emma turned towards her to the closing space between them. They were going to kiss. And she honestly did not see anything wrong with it- or at least at the time.

Regina had kissed Emma, thinking it was a wise decision at the time to give into the feelings swirling within her like a tornado. All sense had left upon tasting the blonde's lips, which were slightly salty from what she assumed had been the potato chips from earlier. It was quite a magical feeling, or so the brunette thought, because she _literally_ saw stars. She could only wonder if Emma had the same feeling, or if it were only another unrequited emotion.

The brunette teacher had found herself slowly falling for Emma. It was strange for her at first, having such feelings and thoughts towards her student. She hadn't even realized what was happening at the time. Sure, she had grown to care for the blonde in a way she started to consider her as a friend of sorts, but she never managed to consider that it would be anything different aside from that. It wasn't until Emma spoke of Graham did she recognize her true feelings. She had felt jealous at the time and it had deeply confused her. The idea of Emma having a _boyfriend_ just sent her heart sinking to her feet. Thinking about it now, she must have seemed a little too concerned about that particular fact upon asking Emma the question. Never again assume, she told herself.

Even after Emma had confirmed that he was just a friend to her, Regina had set her feelings aside and ignored them. She couldn't act upon those emotions, even if she was quite certain that the blonde had it in for her. She wasn't blind nor stupid. She saw the way Emma immediately averted her gaze every time the brunette looked up. Sometimes she could feel those emerald eyes boring into her from afar and knew that she was under the ever watchful gaze of the blonde teenager. The thought had sent shivers coursing through her body. It was, yes, so very wrong, she thought. But the blonde had reawakened something inside of her that she thought would remain dormant for the rest of her life. She never thought she would be feeling so much for another person, and to find her where Cora had sent her to _not_ find such a happiness. It was a miracle to be had, but also a forbidden one. It was an impossibility for the two to be together and for more reasons than just one.

That was why Regina had remained quiet and subtle upon her quiet shows of affection towards the blonde. She knew that she had been doing a good job at keeping herself quiet about the feelings that roared inside of her like a wild forest fire. Emma hadn't shown any signs nor had she taken the plunge into assuming the touching had been something far less professional than a teacher and a student. That was, until the water had gotten murky earlier that day. Everything had been coming down all at once on top of the brunette as she had overheard the blonde's argument with those two boys in her class. She had defended her, and that was something that the teacher had never had the honor to experience. Everyone else had always looked away while others had virtually bullied her, both directly and indirectly. But, then there was Emma. She who had stood up to the boys trash talking Regina when they thought she hadn't been listening. They must have assumed that _everyone_ hated her, seeing as to how they didn't mind speaking such words whilst setting next to classmates.

But what Emma had done had made Regina fall into a much deeper pit of emotion. She had already seen many sides of the blonde, both mature and immature, both kind and aggressive, and then there was that protective part of her that the brunette could not breeze over. The young woman as a whole was everything that Regina had ever hoped for in a significant other. Of course, the age difference was not something that she was so fond of. That's one of the things that had terrified her the most, aside from Emma being her student (although, that was a constant reminder that nagged deep in her gut). She knew that the blonde was only seventeen years old, albeit not far away from the legal age. Her birthday was only a week away, for she had only known since Emma had told her in a prior conversation. But it was still an age difference of_ twenty years_. Of course, she had heard of the saying that love knows no boundaries… But Regina just couldn't help that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was agonizing and she felt nearly nauseous when she thought of the cold, hard facts.

That kiss, though, had taken those cold, hard facts and made them warm and fuzzy. All of her worries had ebbed away, and in that moment, she knew what she had to do. She wanted Emma. But she couldn't have her.

At least, not until graduation day.

That thought had sent another rock to the bottom of her stomach, weighing her down with harsh reality. Emma was her student, even though she was much, much more mature and insightful than her fellow classmates. Every time the English teacher had talked with Emma, whenever or wherever they may be, she felt as if she were talking to someone her own age. The blonde _did_ appear much older than her years when she got into deep conversation, but at other times, Regina saw the younger part of the girl that she really was. And that scared her.

Regina was a grown woman lusting after her teenage student. If that wasn't absurd enough, she might even think she was falling in love with the girl.

_Love?_

Regina had caught her thoughts right there and seized them. That was quite absurd indeed. She wasn't falling into love with Emma Swan. Sure, she liked her, and as smaller child would say, she _like_ liked her. But not love, no. Emma may understand the needs Regina had, and yes, that did make the brunette's heart flutter with gratitude at times, and so did that smile that could easily reach the blonde's eyes when she flashed it for the teacher. As did the blonde's voice every time she had wished Regina a good day. Even on the very first day, that had caused her to smile. _No_ _one_ had ever returned the favor to her before.

And those words that she had said to Regina just before she had left lunch earlier that day. Those words were never spoken to her before. Emma was the first person to care enough about her dignity and her _feelings_. Everyone else assumed that she was a heartless bitch. She'd even heard people call her something along the lines of The Evil Queen. And with Lord only knows what type of rumors were floating around, they made her less approachable. But it was Emma who had stepped out of that current and shown Regina that there were still good people in this world. Selfless people.

Upon hearing those words, Regina couldn't stop the usual barrier that held her emotions in place. She would have been sure that they would have flooded the entire classroom if not were they intangible. Emma's reaction, though, told the brunette that she hadn't hid her emotions well enough this time. She had to have seen that simple little break flicker heavily in her eyes, for she had run quickly from the room.  
And it was just the reason why. But, Emma had thought it to be something entirely different. Or perhaps she had danced around the subject at hand. Perhaps she didn't want to believe that her teacher was _actually_ falling for her. At least those had been Regina's thoughts upon her departure until she had run into Emma at the library. Once the blonde had opened up- and Regina figured that had been quite hard because she suffered the same problems- the teacher had seen her in an entirely different light. Of course, Emma had informed Regina of her past before. She had written characters that resembled her life in the creative prompts for class. But _actually_ opening up and expressing her fears melted Regina's heart because, yes, she was the _only_ one to hear of them and she had been trusted enough with this information. In that very moment, and the ones following, they had connected on a much deeper level. They understood one another in ways others wouldn't dare to compare. It was those similarities, interests, and past fears that had lead up to the moment in Regina's Benz.

That, and the way that Emma's eyes seemed to have absolutely shimmered like emerald gems in the dim light of the street lamp as they caught sight of the brunette. She knew that Emma had felt something. Exactly what, the teacher wasn't sure of, but she felt something similar. Like something had been missing. And that something would have closed off the day.

A kiss.

Strange, yes, but it was absolutely perfect. It had made Regina feel like a teenager once again. She felt flushed with anxiety and her heart rate rose to a remarkable level. She had for sure thought that it would pop out of her chest at the very thought of meeting Emma's lips with her own. The way that the blonde had leaned forward as if so subtly, although it hadn't been, made the moment far more intense. Her palms had become slightly clammy as her nerves had seemed to skyrocket, because it was going to happen.

Regina had found herself, as well, leaning towards the blonde as if there had been a force pulling them together. There was no turning back once their lips were those few inches apart. The air surrounding them had become so thick that Regina had thought she would suffocate if nothing were to advance. And that had caused the smallest of noises to rise from her throat, which she was quite certain that the blonde had heard.

But that hadn't mattered because at that moment, both had surged forward to claim the other's lips. Regina had been quite tentative at first, having an inner battle with herself. The brunette hadn't quite noticed that Emma had also went for the kiss, which had left the English teacher fearful as to how the blonde would react. Every fear had left her body once she had felt those soft lips move against her own.

To sound cliche, she felt as if she were in _heaven_. It was absolute _bliss_. Emma's lips were so very inviting and seemed so very familiar. It had felt just so _right_. Everything in those few moments had felt as if it were rehearsed for many years prior because plump, red lips moved so familiarly sweet against thin, pale ones as if they were old lovers.

Regina had to remind herself that that wasn't the case and that this very kiss was frowned upon by most of society. If not for the age difference, it was for the professional relationship that they had at school. The harsh reality struck the brunette even then, but she had brushed it off in fear that the kiss would be destroyed from those very thoughts.

The brunette teacher, upon reluctantly pulling away with every bit of strength she had, could not get her mind off that very kiss, even as she crawled into bed several hours later. She could not forget the way Emma's blonde locks were like strands of silk between her slender fingers. How she wish she could play with those golden tendrils everyday and slip her fingers through the silky sea. Nothing would ever compare, she had concluded, tossing onto her side and dancing her fingers over the top of her pillow dressed in the finest fabric.

She felt so silly thinking of Emma so late into the night. Regina had a need to check her appearance to make sure she hadn't reverted back into a seventeen-year-old once again because she sure as hell felt like a goddamn teenager. It was quite strange that Emma could do this to her. That she could make her fall so deep into the everlasting pool of emotion. Regina had found herself falling hard and fast for blonde teenager and that was just _frightening_.

It was frightening because she _didn't trust herself_. She didn't trust that she would be fully capable of giving Emma all of what she deserved. To be horribly honest, she wasn't quite sure _Emma_ would be able to provide to her fullest potential. The two of them were both abused by love, albeit in different ways. They were both unsure if they would be capable of it, loving and being loved. Regina had only ever truly loved one person in her life and that had been her own mother- in which case she wasn't sure her mother truly loved her as much as she could. Or at least she had never shown it.

But there was no comparing Emma with her mother. Emma was a completely different story and Regina just was not in love with her. It wasn't love. This was just… emotion. That's all Regina allowed herself to believe, at least. Perhaps that's all this had been. Kissing Emma was only a way to show the blonde how much she had actually understood and appreciated her, nothing more. They _had_ connected, but who had said it was on an emotional level? It had been more psychological under Regina's pretenses, since they had shared information that had never been told to another soul. They were each other's listening ears, for they had no one to express their emotionally damaging pasts to.

The brunette teacher continued to berate herself with such information, trying to ignore the sinking in her heart as she forced herself to come to terms that they were nothing but ears for one another. Of course, it sounded like such a feeble excuse as she tried to dance around the more serious part of their relationship, but it had put a slight ease to Regina's mind. Only slightly. That gnawing in her stomach wouldn't ebb and the heard that had now permanently planted itself into the pit of that very organ completely set her mind on edge again.

Because there was a question. There was something that had continued to worry her, since her plan wasn't exactly representing foolproof. If their ever blooming relationship had turned into a romantic one, was it worth the risk of Regina's job and other consequences that she would consequentially suffer? As much as Regina had wanted to answer that question no, she just could _not_.

Emma was worth the risk and so much more. The blonde had wormed her way into Regina's heart and rooted herself into the older woman's life. She was the only one to have ever bothered to worry about Regina in any way. She had been the only one to see passed the mask that the teacher had thrown on daily. Emma had even gone out of her way to make Regina smile one way or another, especially after having a bad day. And the way that she had entrusted the teacher with such confessions, such as the ones in the library, had been another act that guided Regina towards the riskier side of things.

Emma was more than just a friend for her, she thought as she brought a pillow tightly into her arms, hugging it against her chest. And she was definitely worth the risk. But how they should go about things was an entirely different story and the brunette knew she had to have this discussion with the blonde during their lunch tomorrow. They would need to abstain from affectionate gestures to avoid risk and Emma needed to know that if she didn't already. But that was discussion for tomorrow. Regina really needed to sleep or else she'd be functioning like the dead in the morning.

* * *

Regina was sitting behind her desk, whisky colored eyes surveying the classroom full of students who were currently quietly working on a test she had passed out. It was in the middle of first period class and all ending thoughts from last night had slowly melted into full-blown panic. Upon arriving at the high school and coming to terms with reality of what had happened, she felt guilty and nerve-wracked. She felt as if she couldn't even _look_ at her students without thinking about that kiss with Emma last night. The thoughts that came to mind weren't pleasant, nor repulsive, but complete masses of panicked voices rushing through her mind like an auditorium full of chattering kids.

_Kids that I kissed._

Because she just could _not_ get that single thought from quieting down. And she was pretty goddamn sure that her students thought she was about to get sick when she nearly stumbled over her own feet and paled upon realizing that.

Regina would have vowed to avoid Emma like the plague if she could, but the fact that the blonde was one of her students had ruled that option out. And her mind soon began to reel over the fact that that very blonde would be in this very room in approximately two and a half hours. Her mind began to race once again, trying to recall what she had thought last night before falling asleep. She needed to logically think this through, because she couldn't skip around this forever. Emma deserved better than some half-assed attempt to make things seem peachy keen when they really weren't. They needed to talk about what they had done, but for some reason, that had made Regina's stomach do somersaults. She wouldn't even know how to start such a conversation. Plus, her ever doubtful mind had come up with the idea that Emma might not even want to talk about it. She might even regret kissing Regina in the first place, especially after she would have gloated at the fact that she had gotten what she wanted. But, of course, that was Regina's own warped mind. She was her own bully and she didn't believe in happy endings because they never showed the slightest bit of interest towards her.

She was startled out of her thoughts when a pair of feet shuffled up to her desk. Well, startled was a term used loosely. Regina had quite literally jumped in her seat, eyes wide as she looked up to the student that wore an identical expression, their test in hand.

"Sorry," the student mumbled, handing the brunette the small pack of papers.

"It's quite alright, dear. Thank you." Regina's bewildered stare soon began to dissipate, although her frantically beating hard pounded against her chest as several profanities ran through her mind. These damned students could be so quiet at times. That was why she usually preferred picking tests up from their desks, or at least having them bring the paper to the podium. She must have been too distracted to inform the students to do just that, so they must have assumed to bring the tests to her. Regina would have to remember to tell the next two English classes to do just that.

It wasn't too long until first period had ended. Then second had come and gone as Regina had distracted herself with tests to correct. Third had gone without a cinch, since her mind had to focus on teaching the creative writing class for most of the period without room for other thoughts besides fine grammatical points. Come fourth period, her anxiety was back. Emma had now sauntered into the room, with an emotionless expression. Her insecurity got the better of her and she figured that Emma really had gotten what she wanted and was satisfied- or maybe not so. It was for the better, anyways, that they wouldn't dwell on such a thing. Regina's conscience was telling her that it was just _wrong_ to have done it in the first place. The brunette could only halfheartedly agree, because the rest was focused on the good aspect that would come. But she really did have to think logically about this entire situation. Emma was her student. A student that was very much a minor. _But not in a week_. It was forbidden for teachers and students to have such romantically inclined relationships. _But she's only another human, as are you, that can feel love and compassion_. Their ages were quite large in gap._ But love knows no boundaries._

What was she going to do?

Every thought she had had been counteracted with another, which had left the teacher with a major migraine and a class full of expectant students whose not-so-eager eyes were focused on her as she stood at the front of the room. Her eyes zeroed in on a certain blonde in the back with smiling green eyes. Even though her visage had remained stoic, Regina couldn't help her screaming heart. She really had it in deep and there was no way of pulling back without getting hurt. This was going to be a long period.

After the lesson was finished and the homework handed out, Regina had replaced herself in front of her desk to continue correcting the tests from second period. She was halfway through the stack when she heard a soft noise coming from beside her.

_Emma_.

Regina looked up from the paper, gazing at the blonde through the top of her glasses. Emma was nonchalantly playing with her pencil with eyes focused in front of her, but the smile on her face had given her away. The brunette sighed internally and attracted her attention towards the tests once again, trying hard to ignore the piercing pain in her skull.

Then she heard it again. This time it was a slightly louder _cough cough._

Regina's head snapped up to glare at the side of the blonde's head, only to be met with a pair of sparkling green eyes and an airy smile. Her breath had escaped her then and she remained motionless. How the hell could Emma do that to her? She had _literally_ stolen the breath right from Regina's lungs. And here she thought that that had been just a cheesy cliche.

"Get back to work," she mouthed to the blonde before glancing back down to the tests that were in front of her. Regina heard a soft groan, which she couldn't help but to smile at and it had only widened upon lifting her gaze up to where the blonde seemed to have obliged, and reluctantly so.

They had played that game for the remainder of the class period, where Emma would make a certain noise to disrupt the teacher from her concentrated work, then Regina would look up to see the blonde nonchalantly, once again, playing with her pencil as if she hadn't done it on purpose. But when Regina would have looked up quicker, she would see Emma smiling like a petulant child, looking quite pleased with herself.

When the bell had finally sounded and Emma moved her chair over to Regina as soon as the last student had left, she gave the brunette an entirely different grin. This was one quite similar to the one that she had flashed last night, beaming and easily reaching her eyes. _That_ was another that had taken Regina's breath and had earned an identical grin from her.

"Hi," the blonde greeted lamely.

"Hi," Regina chuckled, playing with the pen that she still had held in her hand. She hadn't felt as nervous as she had this morning about having to talk with Emma. There was something about the blonde that had brought a calm aura to Regina with her presence, which had no doubt confused the teacher.

"How was your day?"

"I've had better." She smiled sadly at the expression that had found its way upon Emma's face. "I've had a migraine," Regina quickly mended.

"You haven't taken anything for it?" Emma frowned.

The teacher shook her head and set the pen down, turning her body to face the blonde teenager. "I don't have any medication with me. Now, Emma," she reached forward to grab her hands, cupping them lightly in her her own. "We really do need to talk… about last night."

"Yeah…" Emma's smile was quickly wiped from her face.

"As you do know, that was quite an inappropriate thing to do and I could easily get fired from my job for it." Regina quirked a brow. That wasn't exactly how she had wanted to start the conversation, but it really did need to be laid out there.

"I know." The blonde resembled a kicked puppy with her head low and a frown creasing her face. "I'm sorry… That I- That I did that. I couldn't con-"  
"It's not all your fault, if at all." Regina reassured, giving Emma's hands a gentle squeeze. "I could have stopped it, but I hadn't. Do not put the blame on yourself. I won't let you do that."  
"You could get fired because of me!" Her voice was rather distressed, guilt etching her features.

But Regina shook her head. She wasn't about to let Emma fret over her and take the blame if something bad were to happen. It was best to resolve things now, and hopefully that would be an easy task.

"I could, but they do not have to know, Emma." The brunette brought their hands closer to her, trying her best at a soothing look. "You have to keep what we did a secret, do you understand?" She silently nodded. "Good."

"I _promise_. It'll only be between you and- and me." The blonde's green gaze drifted down to their hands, then had soon shot back up to meet curious brown orbs. "What do we do?"

"What do you mean, dear?" Regina was quite afraid she knew what Emma was insinuating, and her fears were spoken upon the blonde's next words.

"We kissed. It has to account for something, right? What did… does it mean?" There were unspoken words in those doe-eyes and Regina could echo the same thoughts.

_Were your feelings playing the same part as mine?_

"I… I don't know, Emma." Regina closed her eyes, exhaling a deep sigh. "Coincidences like this are frowned upon in society."

"I know, but… I do know that. I want to know how… know _why_." Emma bit her lip. Right now would be the perfect time to express her feelings towards her teacher and only hope that they were reciprocated. So she blurted with a vague, "I like you."

Emma couldn't begin to explain the emotion that Regina was expressing. Her lips were parted as if she were surprised, but her eyes had contradicted her visage with a deep knowing.

"I know, Emma." she said, her voice husky.

"Have I really been that obvious?" Her ego deflated.

"No," the English teacher was quick to respond. "But it was quite obvious after yo-... _we_ had kissed."

The blonde nodded slowly, her emerald eyes focused on their hands again. Ms. Mills had never let go. "What... what about you? Do you-..." the words died on her tongue. She felt as if she couldn't say them. It felt rather silly to be asking her teacher if she had liked Emma back. Insane, even.

The brunette hesitated for a moment, her eyes darkening in thought. It had terrified Emma, because how if Ms. Mills hadn't liked her back? How if she had just gone with the flow at the time? They _had_ connected in some emotional way last night at the library, and even more so beforehand.

"Emma, I…" The teacher looked down to their hands before tentatively caressing the top of the blonde's hand with her thumb. "I _do_ like you, too. But, I… I don't see how this is going to work."

Those words had made Emma's heart leap into her throat. Ms. Mills _did_ like her back, after all! Although, her feet had found ground after realizing what else the brunette had said. Of course, Emma fully understood her words. She had never completely thought them through, though, since she had never imagined them to come this far.

"I know," she finally muttered somberly. "I don't know why I even chose to subject myself to this. I already knew that there was no good to come of this. I mean… I didn't even believe for a second that you were gay. And… really, I don't know."

"Are you gay, Emma?"

"Yes." The blonde shrugged nonchalantly. "I know that I had failed to tell you, but… I didn't know if that really mattered then, and I didn't want to freak you out. I know that there are some people that… that they tend to back away from people like me. They're scared, I assume, that we would hit on them."

"I know, dear." The brunette teacher bit her lip, her eyes lightly closing. "I've had that trouble when I was younger. I was so scared to admit my true self to _anyone_, including my own mother. But when I did… Let's just say my friends were never really my friends. They only enjoyed the lavish items I had in my home."

"People are assholes." Emma muttered, daring to give Regina's hand a tender squeeze. "One of my foster parents sent me back after I had confided in them. They were highly religious, and I didn't exactly think that it had mattered at the time. But I was dead wrong. I've learned to keep it to myself. Belle, Ruby, and Graham are the only other ones that know, and they're perfectly fine with it."

"They are, indeed... _assholes_." the brunette teacher nodded in agreement, a slight smirk on her lips from using the profanity aloud, although she could very well think of much stronger names to call them. "You are very lucky that you have friends who accept you, Emma."

"I know I am." Emma nodded, but then paused her movements. "Uh… May I ask you a question?"

"It seems as if you already had, my dear." Ms. Mills gave the blonde a wry smile, which in return, had earned her a playful glare. "Go ahead, Emma. Ask me anything."

"You mentioned your mother, did you ever tell her that you're a lesbian?" It was an honest question, but the slight flinch and pained look in the older woman's eyes made Emma want to take it back. "You don't have to ans-"

"It's fine, Emma." The brunette sighed and brought one of her hands up to rub the bridge of her nose, the other still holding tightly onto Emma's hands. "And, yes, I did tell her. She wasn't at all pleased with the fact. It wasn't even for the fact that I prefer women, no. She wanted me to have children and that of my very own so the family name would pass on, since I am an only child." Regina tried to mask the sudden emotion that had choked her up. "Of course, I had wanted children myself. But only when I found the _woman_ that I wanted to have them with. Do you know what she told me when I said that to her?"

When Emma shook her head quietly, the brunette continued. "She told me that I should marry a wealthy man and get pregnant, then divorce him and take the money and the baby. That's when I had decided to leave home and go to college. Remember when I had told you that I acquired a job in journalism and tried to submit my writings?"

"Yes."

"When that failed and I had lost my job, I had no money. My mother had disowned me for leaving her. But as soon as she caught wind that I had no job nor any money, she appeared with smiles and hugs. I was getting out of college by then and she said that she had found me the most _perfect_ job. I had willingly accepted of course, excited that there was a slim chance that she had found one that had dealt with my personal interest."  
"What was it?" Emma quietly asked, frowning when she had noticed the brunette teacher's shimmering eyes. She squeezed her hand in hopes to comfort her.

"It was this job. Here in the small and lovely town called Storybrooke. Let me tell you, I have nothing against this town, but I had grown to dislike it all because of my mother." Regina chuckled coldly. "She told me that it would help me, being in this isolated town. There was no temptation and being a teacher, I just _could not_ influence these kids with my, quote unquote, 'homosexuality'. I, of course, had to oblige and remain dormant so my mother would never find out or else I would be out of luck."

"What about now? Us? Aren't you worried?" The blonde frowned.

That's when Regina slowly shook her head, sorrow clouding her eyes. "My mother doesn't even call me anymore." Despite Regina's hatred for her mother, she just could not help but to love her dearly. And when her mother had stopped calling her every night like she had used to, the brunette felt a great loss because all that she had ever wanted was to make her proud. That was the reason why she stayed and abided Cora. She wanted to please her. But she must have done something wrong in order for the ignorance that she was receiving.

"And besides, I've earned enough money to keep on stable ground for a while. They pay teachers quite well in this town since there are not many willing to teach." She blinked back a few tears before returning her hand to the others that were now on her lap.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, dear. It's better off if she doesn't contact me. She only wants something when she does." _Like if I had found a man yet. It's been over a decade_, she added silently in her head.

Emma gave a silent nod, her eyes had not glued themselves to the four hands bundled together on the brunette's lap. When she did speak, it was a very soft whisper.

"You haven't answered my question."

"What question was that, dear?" Regina had donned a puzzled expression.

"I suppose you have, slightly… But it's not… I want to know what you think is the best for us. Should… Never mind, you know?"

"Emma, honey." The brunette furrowed her brows, catching onto what Emma had been trying to say. The teen looked as if she had wanted to hit herself and Regina knew that feeling all too well. "I understand what you're asking me, yes? We have kissed. Once. And that cannot be spoken of. I know your question and the answer that you want. What about us, since we have now confided our feelings towards each other? I still do not know the answer to that. But…" Regina nibbled on her lower lip. She was in an internal debate about whether or not she should even say the next line that has run across her mind. Logically, she knew that she should just walk away and not continue any sort of romantic relationship with Emma. But, emotionally, she wanted to take that step forward.

"Why don't we talk about it over dinner tonight?" The words were out of her mouth before she knew it, spilling like verbal diarrhea before she could even lay an attempt to stop it. "At Granny's after school, perhaps?"

"I don't know about Granny's…" Emma mumbled. "Ruby's there and I really don't want her saying anything."

"How about that lovely little sidewalk cafe?" She honestly did not know why she was digging herself into a deeper hole. It would only be harder to get out if she were to be in peril.

"That sounds like a plan." The blonde now wore a smile that stretch wide across her thin, pale lips. "Wait. It can't be directly after…"

"Why not?"

"Detention." Emma grumbled disdainfully. "It runs for about an hour. I can meet you there at about a quarter to five?"

"I'll wait for you here, dear. I planned on taking you anyways." Regina flashed her a radiant grin with pearly white teeth contrasting against blood red lips.

"Thanks," the blonde smiled in return.

"You might not want to do that just yet." The English teacher moved her hand up to cup Emma's cheek, giving it a light caress. The blonde had nuzzled the hand, moving into it with, what Regina had swore, was a very faint purr.

"Do you like that?" her voice dropped to a whisper, and her voice with the added husk had only made it that much more sexy.

"I do… No one's ever touched me like that before." Emma let her dazzling green gaze land on Regina's, her head tilted slightly into the cupped hand. "Except for Mary Margaret, but she's a really affectionate person."

"Good. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Regina flipped one of the seventeen-year-old's hands over and laced olive with pale. "Tell me if you ever do, alright?"

"Are we… really going to do this?" Emma asked tentatively, her eyes sliding down to their now laced hands. A slow smile spread across her lips from the sight.

"I'm not sure, dear. We'll discuss it over dinner when we have more time to spare." The brunette leaned forward slightly and whispered, her head jerking towards the far corner from the teacher's desk. "And there are cameras."

"Should we _not_ being doing _this_?"

"Probably not." Regina bit her lip and looked over to the clock above the door. "You'll be having to go soon, dear."

"_Fuck_! I mean _shit_! No.. _damn_… _crap_!" Emma used her free hand to fumble with her backpack to pull out a paper bag. "Lunch!"

"It's quite alright, dear." The brunette chuckled richly, watching with amused eyes as the blonde struggled to pull a Styrofoam container out with one hand.

"Here. I think it's nachos or something. It smelled _really_ good."

"Thank you, so very much, Emma." The teacher licked her lips, chocolate orbs focused on the container of food. "I do believe that Mr. Glass allows students to eat in his class, and if not, I will see to it that he will allow you."

"Really?"

"Of course! You do need to eat and I know that you cannot afford to miss that class." One of her perfectly sculpted brows propped up.

"What? Have you been stalking my grades or something? Can you even do that?" And now Emma was bewildered, her green eyes as wide as saucers.

"I looked _once_ while I was entering in your grade for the last writing assignment. So no, dear, I am not a stalker." The brunette shook her head, an amused smile on her plump lips. "Now, you've got to get going. The bell is about to ring and I doubt that you want to be late."

"Eh," Emma shrugged and looked at their hands, giving Regina's a gentle squeeze before she stood, although she had never let go. "I wish you could come with me, because it sucks and Belle isn't here today."

"I'm sorry, dear. But I must stay here and… plan." She giggled softly and brought their hands up to her face, tentatively pressing her lips to Emma's hand. "Have a good rest of the day, Emma, and I shall see you after your insubordination."

"Yeah… Insubordination. Way to make it sound less shitty." Emma's cheeks, though, were fused bright pink. "But, uh, have a fun time with your 'planning' and enjoy lunch."

"Thank you, Emma." Regina tilted her head up to gaze at the blonde, a sated smile on her lips.

The blonde had nodded and turned to start walking away, but she was pulled back by the hand she still had a tight grasp onto. She laughed and finally untangled their fingers, nervously sliding them through her hair. "Sorry."

"It's quite alright, dear." The teacher shook her head and watched as the impish girl had finally left the room, which had now left Regina alone with her thoughts… and a delicious lunch.

She opened the container and took the plastic fork taped to the top so she could stab at the soggy chips of what appeared to be very cheesy nachos. Her thoughts wandered as she began eating. She didn't exactly know what was going on or what would happen to her relationship with Emma. They seemed to be moving forward, or o that's exactly what Regina had started doing. She didn't seem to be entirely conscious whilst doing it. Hopefully things would get cleared up over dinner later.

_Dinner._

Regina had virtually asked Emma out on a date without even realizing it. She was only digging herself deeper into this hole that she had started. She hoped that she hadn't done it for nothing because it'll be one hell of a thing to get out of.


	10. It's a Date?

**A/N: And here is another chapter! Holy hell, am I sorry that it's way later than usual. I haven't been in the best of writing moods lately, but I finally was able to hitch back on and finished this chapter for you lovely readers! Thank you for being patient with me (if not, I am SOOO sorry!) and I hope that you're still here. This one is extra long and quite fluffy, so I hope that makes up for its tardiness! Please excuse any mistakes, I hadn't reviewed over it quite yet, but in the future I'll be sure to get those fixed! **

**I would also love to thank you all for the nice reviews and wonderful ideas that have given me inspiration! It helped me out a lot and I greatly appreciate it. I do hope you enjoy reading and, please, leave a review to tell me what you think! :)**

* * *

Emma Swan fumbled with her backpack, pulling at loose strings as she sat outside of Mr. Gold's office. It had been an hour of doing nothing, really. She had to write a paper explaining her behavior and _why_ she had hit that boy. Of course, it was rather hard to write exactly why she had done it, since her reasons were supposed to be kept secret. She couldn't risk _anything_ if it had meant that Ms. Mills would ultimately lose her job.

Of course, Mr. Gold had already known why Emma started the fight and that was why she wasn't suspended. She figured the principal had it in for the English teacher, or something of that ilk. Whatever it may be, he really wasn't going to be dipping a toe into those waters any time soon, if ever.

The blonde had sat for most of the hour, thinking about the lovely dinner that she would be having with the brunette after she would be released from this little hell. She thought it would be quiet, fast, and peaceful sitting alone in the office for her punishment. But she had been dead wrong. Upon entering the domain, she soon realized just where those two boys would be. They were serving out their punishments not two tables away from Emma. They had made lewd comments upon her arrival about the blonde and Ms. Mills.

She would have pummeled their faces into the ground if not for Mr. Gold's ever watchful eye. So she had grudgingly sat down and tried her best to ignore their comments. Thankfully the principal had put an end to all noises and told them to get to work before he would add another week to their insubordination.

Emma was now watching the two teenagers from the corner of her eyes. Each were at a different table, but with Mr. Gold's absence, they decided to make a game of it and had started to throw bits of paper at each other, all the while giggling and jeering each other in their version of a whisper.

She really disliked teenage boys. Actually, it wasn't all of them, but more specifically these two. And the only reason why she disliked them was for their rude and crass comments about Ms. Mills. Even then, she felt so very offended by their cruel words, but now, it felt far more personal. It wasn't even just for the fact that they were making those same comments about her as well, no. It was for some reason far different. It was foreign to Emma since she had never felt so compelled towards someone as she did with the brunette teacher. Whatever feelings that she had before were now far more intense and that was rather scary.

What was she getting herself into? That's what she had been asking herself ever since she woke up this morning, and the question had come more frequent after lunch. But those matters would be ran through later, because right now, there was Mr. Gold coming out of his office to relieve them.

And as soon as he had, she was out of that office in no time and on her way to Ms. Mills' room. Her heart was fluttering madly in her chest at the thought. Those two were virtually going out on a date, although she wasn't quite sure if her brunette teacher had thought that at the time or not. But whatever it may be, she felt anxious as hell.

That was, until she heard footsteps behind her. Her mind immediately jumped to the thought of Ms. Mills, but the older woman usually wore heels…

Whipping around, she came face to face with the boy she had punched yesterday. His jaw had ugly bruises on it that made Emma proud, but the angry scowl on his lips scared proud Emma away and replaced her with a more fearful one. The teenager was much larger than she and she didn't have much of an advantage against him, especially if his equally giant friend was standing behind him. In the class, she had an advantage. Ms. Mills was there to end things when it had gotten rough, and to begin with, the boy wasn't suspecting her to deck him.

Emma straightened her back and made eye contact with the boy, pushing her fears to the far corner of her brain. She had to show them that she wasn't afraid, which was a tactic that she used to use at her former foster homes. Stand up to them and hope that they back down. So she donned the most intimidating look that she could, scowling as she spat.

"What do you want?"

"You," the boy growled, taking a step towards her. Emma stood her ground, her eyes narrowing. She knew the hallways were barren, since most students were gone by now, and the secondary hallway that held the English rooms.

And the darkened rooms told Emma that most of the teachers who had rooms along this hall were gone as well. There was absolutely no one around. That also meant that the three of them were alone…

Unless the cameras would catch them and, Emma hoped, that someone would be watching. But with just her luck, they will have stepped away from the video footage to do something better.

"Why? The fuck you want me for?" The blonde glared up at the teenager, her teeth slightly bared.

"To get you back for punching me, you cunt!" Effortlessly, he slammed Emma against one of the lockers, pinning her to it. She struggled, her eyes widening.

"Would you really be such a fucking jerk and hit a defenseless girl?" She snarled.

"Defenseless my ass!" And then Emma's knee met with his groin, causing him to scream in agony. Taking advantage of his lost grip, Emma darted away from him and down the hallway towards Ms. Mills' room. Hopefully she could get there before those bastards were to follow her.

But, her luck was not so great that day, for jerk number one's friend, jerk number two, seized her arm, ultimately yanking the blonde into a backwards halt.

"_Fuck!_" Emma squawked in surprise, her emerald eyes as wide as saucers. Oh, god, she hoped _someone_ had heard her. She really didn't feel like being in pain today. And her fear only heightened when jerk number one straightened up and started to slowly limp towards the two of them.

"And now, you're _really_ going to pay." He growled, not even giving Emma a chance at a retort before his fist met her face. The recoil caused both Emma and jerk number two to stumble backwards, and when she was no longer being held, she had fallen to the ground.

Pain radiated from her left eye and cheek, completely filling all of her senses. She vaguely heard the cruel laughter of the two boys before they had walked off. It was a relief that he wasn't going to continue because she didn't think she could handle all that pain at once. It had been a while since her last physical fight, not counting yesterday, and even then, she didn't get touched much.

And, fuck, was she lucky then because right now she hurt like a son of a bitch. She held her cheek, willing the pain to go away. But she knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Then sudden realization hit her as she remembered where she was heading. She was supposed to go out with the brunette English teacher.

_Oh, no…_

Emma couldn't let the older woman see her like this. She couldn't let her know that she was _weak_. Perhaps she could try to cover it up with her hair. Sure, it'll be an odd look, but at least it would hide it. Now she really wished that she was like some of those other girls that carried makeup around with them.

Cursing herself, she picked herself up off the ground with a hefty grunt. She was left swaying on her feet as blood rushed to her head, nearly causing the blonde to pass out as she saw black. After a minute of standing still to regain herself and kicking her bag halfway down the hall to pick up later, Emma turned around and headed back to the main hall. Soon, she found the women's bathroom and entered. She needed to find a good way to keep her hair to prevent Ms. Mills from seeing and it was rather hard when she didn't know exactly _where _she was flipping those locks.

As soon as she lifted her gaze to the mirror, she gasped. Her eye was already starting to turn a sickly purple and there was a bloody cut on her cheekbone. It looked absolutely horrid, but she would be able to hide it well. She thanked whatever higher deity that it wasn't her jaw that had lain victim because that would sure as hell be hard to hide.

After fixing her hair to lay over the left side of her face, she left the bathroom and, once again, headed towards the English hallway. It wasn't long until she made it to her backpack and bent to pick the object up on her way to Ms. Mills' room, which had only been one door away from the bag.

Her nerves got the better of her once she had reached the door. She stood outside of it for several heartbeats, and in her case, that would have been quite a lot. Her heart was pounding in a rapid tattoo against her chest and she could feel her body just _shake_. Why the hell was she feeling like this? She'd been in Ms. Mills room many, many times before. She'd talked with the woman five times a week. She had also been out with the brunette, although it hadn't been exactly planned either time.

Shaking those feelings away and sucking up her anxiety, she reached for the door handle and opened the barrier between the two of them. _Funny_, she thought, _that would be a good metaphor for our relationship._

"Emma!" She heard the deep voice call from the other side of the room. "I thought you would have been here sooner?"  
When Emma looked up, the brunette wore a concerned expression as she pushed herself from her chair.

"Are you alright, honey? You look a little pale..."

"I'm fine." Emma forced a smile, because she was, in fact, the opposite of fine. Her eye was throbbing, her ass hurt from landing so hard on it, her palms were sweaty as hell and on top of all that her stomach was doing so many flips she thought she was about to get sick. And now she just lied straight to Ms. Mills' face, but it was something she was so very used to- saying that she was fine when she really wasn't. It had become such an automatic response, she could never stop it at times.

The brunette only frowned and crossed the distance between them, the spicy scent of Ms. Mills' perfume engulfed Emma's senses. "Are you sure?"

The blonde swallowed hard and looked away. She couldn't bring herself to lie to the woman again, but she didn't want to say anything else. "Are we still going?" she asked instead.

"Yes, we are. Of course." The teacher tilted her head, her chocolate eyes still mixed with worry. "I'll go grab my purse and coat, then we can leave."

"Alright." Emma nodded and watched as the brunette did just that. Normally she would take advantage and ogle Regina's perfect rump, but the pain had just been too intense and she felt as if she just could not concentrate. Therefore, she had missed the words that the brunette had spoken when she had headed back over to the blonde.

"Emma?" Then there was a hand on her cheek, soft and gentle fingers lightly skittering over the surface. But then one of those fingers brushed against the fresh cut on Emma's cheekbone and she flinched back in pain, forcing Regina's hand from her. The reaction had no doubt moved her hair, because the way the brunette's eyes were wide and had started to shimmer shown her immediate concern.

"Emma… Wh-what happened?" The teacher's hand moved up once again to Emma's left cheek, hovering over the skin so she wouldn't accidentally brush over the tender flesh.

"It's nothing," she shrugged, turning her head away from the hand. "Why don't we go?"

"Emma, dear." Ms. Mills frowned, the hand left abandoned in the air had curled into a fist before landing by her side. "Who did this to you?" Her voice was a whisper, the frown on her face was quite evident that she was genuinely concerned over what had happened.

Emma, though, wasn't quite used to someone caring like that about it. Sometimes it was quite smothering, or at least that's how it felt with the Nolans. They were sometimes a little _too_ caring and concerned when it came to an injury, or well, _anything_ really. She loved those two dearly, they truly were nice people, but she wished they would tone it down just a bit.

On the other hand, though, with the caring Regina in front of her, it felt more comforting to say the least. It didn't feel like she was being sandwiched between two bodies. The genuinity of Ms. Mills' emotions were enough to make Emma's heart melt, and the fiery look in her eyes told the blonde that she was about ready to hand someone their ass.

And she wouldn't doubt it for a second. After what she had learned earlier that day, and what the brunette's true feelings were for her, she could see the woman go apeshit to protect her. After all, she had done the same and would do it again in a heartbeat.

"It was that boy that I hit yesterday. He wanted payback, I guess." Emma bit her lip. Usually she never tattled, especially to a teacher, but Ms. Mills had just made her feel so unlike herself.

"Why would he do this to you?" All of the anger melted into sorrow on the brunette's visage, and before the blonde knew it, she was engulfed into warm arms. "We can't go to the cafe."

"I'm sorry I'm mutilated…" The blonde stated solemnly, her right cheek pressed against Ms. Mills' shoulder.

"No. No, dear. That's not what I had meant." Regina frowned, her grip tightening around the blonde's petite form. "I meant that you're more than likely in pain, yes? You need ice and medication."

Emma nodded slightly, but continued to frown. Did the teacher really want to get rid of her just like that? It seemed as if she were saving her ass with that last response like she hadn't wanted to let the blonde down too harshly.

"I'll start walking home, then." She finally mumbled.

"No." Ms. Mills was quick to respond and Emma swore she could feel the arms constrict even tighter. "I'll take you home. To… to my house, I mean. We're still having dinner regardless." Then she whispered. "If you want, or else I'll take you to your home if that's what you desire."

"You do owe me a talk." Emma muttered against the brunette's coat.

"Does that mean that you want to come with me?"

The blonde merely nodded this time, pulling herself from the older woman's arms. She was going to take her to her house. Emma just _could not_ believe what was happening right now. First, they were supposed to go on a date. And now, that Emma had gotten hurt, they were going to Regina's _house_. Anyone in their right mind would be freaking out, she thought as they headed towards the door. She was going to her teacher's house. Her _very attractive_ teacher's house. All because she… She really cared about Emma's well-being. That thought made the blonde's heart swell inside her chest. Did the brunette teacher care _that_ much about her?

"How are you feeling, dear?" The brunette asked, her hand lightly gripping Emma's elbow as they neared her Mercedes.

"My face hurts like fucking hell." Emma mumbled, grounding her jaw. And that was absolutely true and if she were to describe it any other way, she would be _wrong_. "But, aside from that, I'm pretty good. Spending time with you evens it out."

That was a chancey statement, but she risked it. Emma was never one for sharing her feelings so freely with others. She usually kept whatever thoughts and grievances to herself. But that small upturn of Regina's lips that had turned into a full-blown _beam_ was just worth it.

Anything that earned a smile like _that_ from the brunette teacher was worth doing anything for. She quite enjoyed Ms. Mills' elation, which was quite odd for the blonde. Normally she couldn't give a hoot for another human being, but the brunette seemed to bring something out of Emma that Emma didn't even know she had dormant. Whatever these feelings that she had developed towards the brunette were far more serious and mature than she had originally. She was both excited and terrified to step into this current, but she was also unaware of where it might bring her. Emma didn't want to think about what may happen, because she was sure something negative would happen and all efforts will have been wasted.

"Does it really?" The brunette asked incredulously, as if she hadn't believed what Emma had said. As she waited for the answer, she dug her car keys from her pocket and opened the passenger's door to allow Emma inside.

"Yes." Emma simply answered, ducking her head as she got in. Her gaze lifted to Ms. Mills who had been waiting for her to get in, no doubt to close her door. "I'm usually not… so expressive of my emotions, but for some reason, you just make my day better. And I really like to see you smile. It's pretty. I hope you never stop."

"Emma…" Regina nibbled on her lower lip, but the smile never faded. Her entire expression, though, had turned watery, and Emma swore that she could see the mist gathering in the older woman's chocolate orbs.

"How could I ever stop smiling when you're around?" she whispered softly, lifting her hand to wipe some of the moisture away. "You're one of the sweetest people that I have ever meant."

"I'm really not sweet." The blonde mumbled as heat raced to color her cheeks pink.

"Well, you _are_ selfless." Ms. Mills brought a hand to cup Emma's face, but she soon dropped her arm as she had realized that the teenager's skin was a sickly shade of purple. "We ought to get going, dear. You need ice on that."

Emma nodded, unable to respond as the teacher closed the passenger's door to head towards the driver's side. The blonde watched each graceful step that the brunette had taken. Her body was like a work of art with perfect curves and a flawless, olive complexion. The thought of what lay hidden underneath those articles of clothing had Emma in goosebumps. That really wasn't something she should be thinking about, and she greatly scolded herself for it. This woman was doing a good deed by showing her kindness and concern over her injury, and the only way Emma could repay her was by imagining what the brunette teacher looked like nude.

"Are you alright, dear? You look a little flushed…" the deep, husky voice next to Emma sounded, resulting in a jerky reaction.

_Damn inappropriate thoughts!_

"I-I'm fine…" she stammered, her heart beating furiously against her chest. "When did you get in here?"

That earned an eyebrow raise. "A while ago, shall I say. You were staring at at the cement in front of you for who only knows how long."

"I was?" The blonde tilted her head, her cheeks heating with embarrassment. Shit, she must have really been lost in thought if she hadn't noticed that Ms. Mills had even moved from her line of sight, let alone enter the vehicle.

"Yes, dear." The brunette chuckled softly before starting up the Mercedes. "Perhaps you're in dire need of medication, more so than I though."

"Probably." Emma couldn't help but to giggle.

"Then we shall go." Regina pointed passed the blonde. "Put your seatbelt on, first. Safety first."

"Yeah, safety." And so she clicked the belt into place, looking over to the brunette once she had finished. "Ready?"  
"Mhm." Ms. Mills put the car into drive and pulled out of the nearly empty parking lot.

About ten minutes later, the Mercedes pulled into the driveway of what appeared to be a small mansion, and holy shit, Emma's jaw dropped. She stared at the white structure, unable to conceive what she was seeing. Sure, she assumed Ms. Mills was well off, but not _this_ much.

"It's so _big_."

"I know," the teacher shrugged nonchalantly as she shut the car down and unbuckled her seat belt.

Emma did the same, popping out of the car as soon as the doors were unlocked. She continued to gawk at the house, even as they walked up the path to the porch and white front door that had a large 108 in the middle of it. As Regina fumbled with the lock, Emma couldn't help but to comment.

"It must be really nice."

"It's just a house."  
Emma saw the look that crossed over Regina's features. She had become familiar with it throughout their lunches. It was that empty look that she got every time there was a mention of either friends or family. The blonde had assumed Regina had neither of those, or at least very few that she talked to regularly. It was strange what the eyes gave away. They really were the windows to the soul.

Despite the sorrow that had taken a tone to the brunette's voice, Emma decided to press. She normally tried to, worming her way through the tough exterior that Regina had built for herself. The wall had been cracking, and Emma knew that from the rare times that Regina _had_ slipped, but it was still standing tall and heavily guarded.

"Why do you say that?"  
Regina sighed at the question and hung her pea coat up in the hall closet next to the front door. Emma had nearly forgotten she had asked the question as soon as she had stepped foot into the foyer. The house was just gorgeous and lavishly decorated. Her eyes caught the chandelier and her jaw dropped once again. There was a frickin' _chandelier_ in the frickin' _foyer_. She could only imagine what other expensive structures wait inside the rest of the house.

She was taken aback when Regina had finally replied to the question, which left the blonde confused for a moment before remembering why she explained what she had.

"It's empty. I have no one to share it with, so what's the point of all this… _material_?" Regina turned to look at Emma, a bored expression on her face. "The house has become just another thing in my everyday life. It is nothing spectacular to me anymore. It lost its glow after I had realized how big it really was and how lonely I was in it by myself."

"Why did you buy such a big house, then?"

"I didn't," she whispered, walking towards the left side of the foyer. Emma followed behind her, soon realizing that they were heading towards the kitchen. She took advantage and gazed upon the walls around her. They were filled with meaningless art. No photos.

"What do you mean?" Emma leaned against the island, forest eyes tracking Regina's every movement while she began to prepare for their dinner.

Regina didn't look at her as she spoke, but merely continued with the preparation. "My mother had bought it for me."

Her voice had a sharp tone to it, clipping each word with no room for further conversation. She had closed up again. Emma had figured out the tone she took when she didn't want to discuss a certain subject. It only really happened a couple of times, most of them evolving around Regina's mother. Cora was her name. And she recollected that the brunette had told her that her mother was her support upon coming to Storybrooke. She assumed that it only made sense that Cora had also purchased such a lavish house for her daughter.

She assumed Regina didn't have a good relationship with her mother, and before, it really wasn't any of her business to be thinking about it. Regina was her teacher after all.

But now it was different.

Although, Emma didn't want to anger Regina by prying, so she kept her mouth shut about the topic.

"I see," was all she said, hoping it would keep the brunette sated.

"So, what do you plan on making for dinner?" Emma asked, dropping the previous topic completely. She saw the way Regina's shoulders had visibly relaxed upon the question and decided that she made a good choice.

"I planned on making lasagna." The brunette's eyes twinkled with amusement upon the distasteful look on Emma's face. "You cannot hate it unless you try it, dear. At least try mine." Ms. Mills purred softly, her feet taking her towards the refrigerator. After pulling something out, she retraced her tracks to the island and handed Emma an ice pack.

"Thanks…" Emma muttered, immediately taking the small pack to gently place over her left eye. "I'll try it, only because you're making it."

"Thank you, dear." she grinned widely and, quite tentatively, took a step forward to place a chaste kiss on the blonde's cheek. "Now, I'll get this put together and throw it in the oven, then I'll get the pain pills. Unless you want me to get them now. I will."

"No. I can wait… The ice is helping, thank you." The blonde couldn't help the ever growing blush on her cheeks.

"I can get them written up for doing this to you, Emma." Regina paused her work and turned a serious eye on the blonde. "They could get suspended."

"No, don't." Emma quickly responded, shaking her head. "It'll only make things worst, trust me. You know how people can be? They'll only want to smash my face in if they knew I tattled on 'em."

"Are you sure?" The brunette asked, leaning towards Emma. When she nodded, Regina sighed and proceeded with preparing the lasagna. "I'll create a seating chart so you wouldn't have to be seated next to them anymore, then?"

"Would you really do that?" Emma tilted her head, sticking a finger into the sauce that was now coating some of the lasagna noodles.

"Of course, dear." The brunette gave her a quick shake of the head at the petulant action, but decided against voicing her disapproval. "I can't expel them from my class without reason. Students get into fights all of the time. I cannot show favor…" then she added with a low whisper, probably not meant to be heard, but Emma had picked the words up. "_Even though I wish I could._"

Emma smiled softly and watched Regina as she picked the now finished creation up and slid it into the over. Her head tilted ever so slightly as she watched the round rump that had taken her line of view.  
"_Me too,_" she whispered, and the way that the teacher had stood stark upright had told the blonde that she had heard the response. "But, I know that you cannot in class. _Although_…"

"Although?" Regina walked slowly over to Emma.

"We aren't in class, so you can favor me all you want." Emma grinned. But, soon enough, her face twisted as she realized what she had said. "That sounds so cheesy."

But the English teacher had only shrugged and reached forward to take Emma's hand. "I like your cheesy." A smile was spread wide across her face as she tug on the red-cheeked Emma's hand.  
"Where are we going?" The blonde asked, following behind Regina as they had left the kitchen and entered the hallway once again. They crossed the foyer and entered another room. A sitting room, Emma thought, taking a look around at the lavish room with large, comfy leather couches and chairs, and a large television placed across them. She also took note of the piano laying abandoned in the closest corner to the door. That sparked a few questions.

"I'm taking you here." The brunette grinned and led Emma towards one of the creamy couches. "I hope that you don't mind waiting as I grab the pills from upstairs, do you, dear?"

"Of course not!"

"Perfect. Please, make yourself at home. The remote to the television is right there on the coffee table." Then she was leaving the room. Trusting Emma to be left alone.

That thought made the blonde teenager smile. Regina trusted her enough to leave her alone like that. Of course, though. Why wouldn't she? She'd already told Emma that she had trusted her, so why not prove it?

Emma sighed and leaned back against the couch. Her eye was throbbing again. The pain felt so unbearable at times, she just wanted to cry. That damn ice wasn't doing much to help her. In fact, it felt as if it were only freezing her skin and making it all the more painful. God, did she hate those stupid boys. Who knew that they had the gall to even do that? Emma sure as hell hadn't thought so, but was she ever wrong?

With her boredom increasing, Emma reached over to grab the remote and flicked the television on. And it _blared_ so goddamn _loud_, the blonde was on the floor from shock before she knew what to do. Her entire body was haphazardly splayed out on the floor between the couch and coffee table, and the ice pack that she had previously held had landed somewhere next to a piece of the remote halfway across the room. The next thing she found herself doing was scrambling to find the remote and it's pieces so she could turn that _horrendous_ noise off.

"Fuckity fucking fuck!" she screeched over the noise as one of the batteries rolled underneath the couch. Just her luck. Break and lose something her first day in Regina Mills' house. She surely wouldn't want her back after _this_ one.

Regina had found Emma arm deep underneath the couch, her face clearly shown her struggle as she tried to stretch for an object. And that was her own luck once again. No doubt the deafening noise had alerted the brunette.

"What the hell are you doing?" Regina yelled over the noise as she bent to grab the ice pack from the floor at her feet.

The music blasting from the television was suddenly cut off, leaving a deafening moment of silence. It took a moment before Emma could regain herself and continue with all her might to reach that roll-away battery. She yelped a cheer as her fingers grazed over the cool cylinder, and soon she was crawling back onto the leather surface of the couch.

Her green eyes met with the questioning brown ones of Regina's, and she offered a sheepish smile. "The TV. I turned it on and… it was loud. I… fell and dropped… everything."

"Uh huh…" The muddy eyes drifted towards the now whole remote in Emma's hand.

"Which raises the question, though…" Emma's voice caused the brunette's attention to snap back up towards her. "Why the hell was your TV so loud? Were you trying to make yourself deaf?"

"Well, some of those students at school can be quite boisterous." Ms. Mills replied with a sly smirk.

"Really?" Emma quirked a brow.

"No. I quite enjoy listening to music while I do housework. I must have forgotten to turn the volume down before turning the television off."

"Why don't you wear headphones like a regular person?" Emma muttered, half for her disdain towards the TV that nearly scared the shit out of her.

"I am not regular people." Regina mused, taking an elegant step towards the couch so she could sit next to the blonde. God, was she so goddamn perfect at everything that she did? Even when sitting, she looked as regal as a queen.

"And am I glad. You're quite unique and I enjoy that." The blonde gave her a large, genuine grin, which in return, earned her a beaming smile.

"I'm glad that you think so, Emma." The teacher gently picked up Emma's hand, turning her palm upwards so she could drop the pills into it. "Here, dear. This should help ease your pain."

"Thank you…" Emma turned her gaze up to the older woman and couldn't help but to lean in. Her heartbeat rose and it felt as if they were back in the Mercedes. Whatever the force had been that had pulled them together then was definitely working its magic now, or at least on her. The brunette just watched her with expectant eyes and perfect lips pursed. The blonde had licked her own subconsciously before daring a chaste kiss to those very lips in front of her. It was a momentary spark that caught Emma's breath in her throat. When she had pulled from the small gesture of gratitude, her breathing had become shallow.

"You're welcome, dear…" Regina mostly purred her words, and when Emma looked into her eyes for a second time, she had noticed that they were much darker than before. Then she leaned forward and the blonde swore she was going to kiss her again, but the older woman's mouth missed her own and, instead, went straight to her ear and whispered. "Take the pills."

Emma nodded and obliged, popping the two tablets into her mouth before swallowing them dry. And as soon as she had done that, the brunette was in her personal space, their hips touching and their mouths only a breadth apart. It was almost dizzying and before she knew it, their lips were crashing against one another's.

And, holy shit, if the kiss in the car wasn't amazing enough, this one just took the cake. Emma couldn't help but let a soft groan rumble in her throat, especially when Regina nibbled ever so slightly on her lower lip. It felt like such a sweet gesture, as did the arms that enveloped her and ultimately brought the two together into a much deeper kiss.

The blonde pressed herself closer to the older woman, her fingers curling pleasantly into raven locks as the second tentatively explored further, eventually finding base at Regina's lower back. The brunette gave the most sultry moan that seemed to shoot straight to Emma's core, and holy fuck, she wondered if Regina was feeling like this too. She soon felt a tongue slide against her lips, tracing the crease between top and bottom. Taking this as a request, Emma granted permission by parting her lips and her mouth was soon invaded by the English teacher's sweet tongue. If she hadn't caught the spicy flavor of the brunette's mouth before, she did now, and it tasted just like the nachos that the woman had eaten for lunch. Emma wasn't always one for tasting her food a second time, but there was something about a little Regina flavor mixed with it that made the prior meal all the better.

And like clockwork, she felt a hand exploring her gentle curves, sliding up her sides from her hips to… _oh_. Emma groaned against the brunette's mouth as her hands found a mound of sensitive flesh on her chest and squeezed ever so softly.

_Beeeeeeeep!_

The two ignored the faint bell coming from the kitchen. They had been so lost in each other and neither one wanted to let this moment go.

___Beeeeeeeep_!

The reluctant time had gone off a second time. Emma heard Regina grunt with irritation, but she showed to sign of moving.

___Beeeeeeeep_!

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Regina growled as she pulled away from the blonde and stood, sauntering off with an angered stomp.

Emma blinked, a stunned expression on her visage. She's never heard Ms. Mills use such language, nor had she seen her so _aggravated_.

_She must have enjoyed it as much as I._

Emma smirked to herself, using the back of her hand to wipe the saliva from around her mouth. Who would have known how far that would have went if not for the timer. But, then again, perhaps it was perfect timing. The blonde's stomach grumbled as if on cue.

"The lasagna's done, dear!" She heard that familiarly wonderful deep voice sound from across the house. It hadn't taken long for the blonde to hoist herself up from the couch and make her way to the dining room, where Regina had already set the rather delicious smelling lasagna.

"It smells terrific, R... Regina." Emma smiled, her forest eyes on the steaming casserole. She tried not to look at the reaction on the teacher's face after using her first name- which, as Emma could recall, would be the very first time she had used it.

"Thank you, Emma." The brunette pulled out a chair and gestured to it. "Please, do have a seat. I shall get the dinner plates and then we can start eating." And she was gone.

The blonde had waited until she was completely out of sight before staring the lasagna down. Normally she hated the meal, but she was going to give _this_ one a chance since it had been made by Regina. Perhaps it would turn out alright. Upon further inspection of the door leading to the kitchen, Emma extended a hand to dip her finger into the sauce.

"It's bad manners to stick your fingers in the dish before it's served." A warning voice caused the blonde to jump and don a sheepish face.

"Sorry… It just looked _so_ good."

"Mhm…" Regina quirked a brow before setting a white dinner plate in front of the blonde. She soon served her up a perfect square before serving her own self. "I do hope you enjoy. It's my own recipe."

"I'm sure I will." Emma beamed, her eyes dropping to the lasagna on her plate. With the slightest reluctance, she dug her fork into the very corner of the square and lifted it to her mouth. As soon as she had slid the fork from between her lips, she broke into the largest smile.

"I think I just found my favorite meal."

"Did you now?" Regina emitted a proud glow in her aura.

"Yes! It's really delicious." And to prove just that, Emma took another bite, one much larger than the last. She was quite surprised that she had actually enjoyed the meal. She wasn't quite sure what was so different about it than all the other lasagnas that she had tried before. Maybe she only did have just one really bad one and Granny's lasagna never really cut the mark to be her favorite afterwards. There was always _something_ that was just off about all those other lasagnas. But _this_ one, and sure, it may sound as if she were praising Regina's just because she had liked her, but that wasn't the case. This one was different because it _didn't_ taste like lasagna. It tasted as if it were a spicy spaghetti with large noodles.

"I am certainly glad that you find my lasagna to be up to your standards." The brunette gave her a wry smile before taking a dainty bite off her fork.

"I like it. I like it almost as much as I like you, and that's a lot."

Those words had earned Emma a speechless Regina and a foot in her mouth. Perhaps she shouldn't have said that. Sometimes she just didn't have a goddamn filter on her mouth. She really needed to get that fixed. So, for now, she stuffed another bite in her mouth.

"It's quite comforting to hear that I am better liked than the lasagna I make. That's quite something, considering that I'm sure others would prefer my cooking over the cook." The brunette had finally spoken, a wry smile on her lips. "Although, I do quite like you as well, dear. More than apples, even, and _that's_ a lot."

"Huh…" A smile broke out on Emma's face. "I'm glad I'm more worthy than apples."

Regina hummed, taking another forkful of lasagna before speaking again. "And speaking of liking, we still have to talk."

"We do. You still have to answer my question. What do you want to do? About… all of this." The blonde gestured to herself, smirking with amusement at the face that her teacher had suddenly donned.

"Emma…"

"I know, I know. I was joking. Well, only sort of… because I really want to…" Emma set her fork down and sighed, running her fingers through her blonde mane. "You know I'm really not one to be so open with my feelings, and I'm really not used to _this_ type of stuff. I understand, and I really honestly do, if you don't want to do anything about it. That we just continue on with our lives as they had been. I know this is risky already for you… I wouldn't want you to lose your job over me. Hell, I would understand completely if you were to turn away _because_ of that. I'm really not worth the risk. I don't know why you've bothered to invite me over here."

"_Emma_, honey, just stop right there." Regina's tone was gentle, and her equally as gentle hand reached across the table to the blonde's own. "You don't give yourself as much confidence as you should. I do understand that everything that we're doing is a rather large risk to my job. And I do know that we really should not be doing this, and I should know better than to let myself fall into this hole…"

"See, I knew that I wasn't wron-"  
"_But_," the brunette quickly interrupted, her lips pursed. "I find myself so intrigued by you, Emma. I cannot stop these feelings that I have bubbling inside… The moral side of my conscious is telling me to just _back away_. This isn't worth the risk. But in my _right_ mind, it is. You're worth the risk and so much more."  
Regina paused and closed her eyes, rubbing the topside of Emma's hand ever so softly. "I've been having debates with myself all night and day, and I have been desperately trying to come to a worthy conclusion. And I think I have, Emma. I have your answer, even though it might sound so very crazy. Are you ready to hear it?"  
"I really want to speak with you about so much more…" Emma's voice cracked and she was quite sure that it had been noticed by the brunette teacher for she felt the older woman's grip tighten on her hand. "But… uh, yes. Of course I am. I'm scared out of my mind, though."

"I was thinking that… that perhaps we can…" The woman stumbled, as if trying to find the right words. And she was. It was rather awkward to say what she was about to and Emma could see the mild confusion in those brown pools. "We can test this out. If you want to, Emma."

"You mean… Do you mean that we can try to have a relationship?"

"That's… I was thinking something along the lines of testing those waters out, dear. We would have to keep quiet, though. No one inside the school can know. Nor anyone outside for that matter…"

"I understand." Emma nodded, a smile creeping onto her lips. Suddenly she felt so much lighter than before. There was a fear that she would float into the clouds if she felt any more lightweight. "No one will know."

"Emma? Do you… want to try it?" The brunette asked tentatively, and when Emma looked up, her heart broke. Regina had looked as if she were expecting to be rejected and kept any other expectation low, which was something that the blonde was quite sure she had felt often with others.

"Of course." And just like that, those fears swirling in chocolate eyes were vanquished and replaced with elation.

"Really?" Regina's smile turned Emma into putty, and the blonde just nodded.

"Why wouldn't I? You're a wonderful woman, Regina. You're kind, you're sweet, and you're so very caring. You've shown me more of those qualities in five minutes than I've had in my entire life." She carefully gave the older woman's hand a squeeze. "And I am completely _honored_ that you like me back and that you actually want to try something like _this_. That you've virtually invited me on a date already."

This time Regina could not stop the tears from falling down her cheeks, which had been painted a rosy pink. That had made Emma slightly panic, and soon she was whispering soothing words while stroking the hand that held hers.  
"Don't cry… I didn't…"

"Oh, Emma… It's not your fault. It's just that… I've made the right decision for the first time in my life. I chose _you_. I know it may be quite… strange right now, but stepping into these waters, testing them out, I can tell that it will have been the best thing that I have done- even if it were to end in heartbreak." The brunette had a watery smile on her plum lip, the gesture leaving her with a shaky breath. "No one has ever said such things to me before."  
"Well, we _are_ on a date. Am I not supposed to be flattering you?" Holy shit did Emma hope she was saying the right things. She really didn't know how to act with someone when on a date. She had never been on one before, let alone had a _girlfriend_- or what it may be that they were right now. She hadn't had anyone so _intimately_ before.

"A date…" The brunette snuffled, wiping the tear tracks off her cheeks. "I suppose this should be our first one?"

"Well, if you wanted to play like that, yeah." The blonde nodded. "I don't know what people do on dates, so…"

"Honestly, I've never been on a good one, so neither do I." She chuckled and sniffled again.

"A good one? You've been on dates before?" Emma blinked. She hadn't thought Regina would be the type to go on a date, especially since she had tried to keep her sexuality a secret.

"Yes…" The brunette rolled her eyes. "They were with men that my mother had set up with me when I had first moved here. They were all unsuccessful and quite boring. Most of the time I had ended up telling them that I preferred women to get entertainment."

"Holy shit, really? What'd they do?"

"One of them just nodded and said 'knew it' before getting up and walking out, leaving me with the bill." She wrinkled her nose at the memory. "Another one had been homophobic and I nearly thought he was going to have a brain aneurysm with the fact. He, also, got up and left, but not without showing me what he really thought and dumped the rest of his meal on my _very_ expensive dress. Mother was not happy about that one."

"What an asshole…" Emma commented with a frown, squeezing the teacher's hand. "I hate those people. Did he tell you that you were going to hell?"

"That, among other things." Regina muttered bitterly. "The other guys weren't as bad. I mean, I caught them by surprise, though. One of them blatantly stated that I was 'too hot to be a lesbian' and the other said that it was 'cool' that I 'digged chicks' and that he would too if he were one because he liked 'tits too much.' We had remarkably talked for a few hours, but after that, we went our separate ways and I hadn't heard from him since."

"Sounds like you sure as hell had a lot of fun back then." Emma couldn't help but laugh at what the other woman had told her. "Have you had any dates with women?"

"Not dates, per say…" And that had made the brunette squirm uncomfortably in her spot. Emma stared at her with wide, green eyes when sudden realization struck.

"You mean… you mean you had _booty calls_?"

"Now, that's just crass!" Regina protested, but the blush blooming on her cheeks gave her away. "They weren't _booty calls_, Emma. They were…"

"Where the hell did you pick 'em up from if you didn't date them?"

"No where. Just… I do not wish to have this conversation with you. It does not make me feel comfortable."

"But…"

"_Please_."

"_Fine_. I'll drop it. Only because it looks as if your head is going to explode." Emma smirked.

"Shut up…" Regina mumbled before releasing her grip on Emma's hand to stand up. "Why don't you go to the living room and pick out a movie while I put the dishes away? I suppose a proper date requires a good film?"

"And… popcorn?"

"I'll make popcorn as well."

"You're awesome." The blonde grinned widely at the brunette before hopping off across the house to the sitting room.

It wasn't long before the two of them were sitting side by side on the large, leather sofa with a bowl of popcorn on Emma's legs. The blonde had already popped the DVD into its player and hid the case to surprise Regina with the title. It had come to a surprise to her as she had discovered the movie in her teacher's collection. It was one of her own favorites, as was many of the others the brunette had. Whatever uptight thoughts remaining about the brunette that Emma had were quickly gone because this woman enjoyed gore, and damned good amounts of it too, considering the large amount of movies she had in her collection. The vast majority of Regina's film collection were both that of horror and romantic, sappy films- mostly those Lifetime ones that Emma had steered clear of, because she would die before having to touch one of those with a ten foot pole.

"What movie did you pick, dear?" The brunette asked innocently, her eyes roving over the coffee table as she searched the case. That had only made Emma smirk.

"You'll see." _and we'll probably want to rethink this popcorn_, she added silently. Because, yeah, she chose a gorey and _disgusting_ movie to watch. That film should be illegal on all planets of the universe and should be burned at some sort of stake. But, goddamn, did she _love_ it.

"Emma..?"

The blonde had skipped every preview up to the warning screen with a wide, knowing smile on her face. "It's probably not date material, but I'm not a fan of those sappy rom-coms."

"... someone found my horror selection, I take it." Regina quirked a brow, her eyes sliding over to the flat screened television as the title screen popped up. "_The Human Centipede_, Emma… Really?"

"Yeah… popcorn probably won't be…" The blonde wrinkled her nose and hit the play button so she could take a handful from the bowl. "Think we can finish it before the doctor starts doing the freaky shit?"

"I… uh…"

Emma laughed and playfully bumped into the older woman. "I didn't know you liked this sort of stuff. You're pretty demented, Regina, but that only makes me like you more."

"There certainly is a lot that you don't know about me, dear…" Regina finally found the right words to form a coherent sentence.

"Now you're really making me curious." Emma mumbled, turning to stare at the brunette with curious eyes. Just what was she hiding underneath those masks?

"Sh. The movie's starting…"  
With a pout, the blonde reluctantly faced the screen and focused in on the opening sequence. It wasn't until she felt an arm wrap around her neck did she smile and forget about the world for the time being.

It wasn't even an hour into the movie when Emma heard a soft snore. Their positioning had changed quite a few times during the film until they finally ended up in their current position. Emma was leaning against the arm of the couch with Regina's head lain across her lap. The brunette was curled up with one of the blonde's arms draped across her abdomen while the other propped her head up, using the couch's arm as support.

But when Emma had heard the snore, she looked down to see Regina snoozing peacefully. Her face was relaxed, her eyes closed, and, holy shit, she looked just _breathtaking_ while she slept. The blonde knew that she could watch Regina sleep all night without getting the least bit of bored. With a warm smile on her face, Emma almost unconsciously brought the hand she had propping her head up with over to the brunette's own. Pale fingers slide tentatively through thick, raven locks, careful not to wake the sleeping woman. The sight was precious, especially when Regina's nose had twitched in the slightest, but that was before a loud snore ripped from her throat and she tossed onto her other side, painfully digging her elbow into Emma.  
She winced and bit her lip to keep from verbally expressing her pain, instead, she squeaked and brought her hands away from Regina. Damn woman was lethal in more ways than one. If not for that killer smile, it was those damn pointy elbows.

_Goddamn woman._

But Emma couldn't stay mad long, after all, Regina hadn't meant to do it, and that cute, relaxed expression on her face had melted her heart. Then she felt arms unconsciously wrap around her waist as a nose nuzzled into her lower belly.

"Well…" she whispered softly, grinning like mad. Regina must have been a cuddler when she slept. It was one of the most precious things that Emma had laid eyes on.

_Holy shit._

Was she watching some sappy movie that had made herself just as goopy-hearted? What the hell were these thoughts? She was Emma Swan. She was the _motherfucking Swan beast_. She kicked ass to defend a woman's honor and she took that punch like a man when it was sent her way. Well, for the most part. At least she hadn't cried like a baby.

Emma needed to toughen up. So she looked up and proceeded to watch the film she was supposed to be viewing for the past who only knows how many minutes she had been fawning over the sleeping English teacher.

By the end of the movie, Emma had troubles keeping her eyes open. She hadn't realized how tired she had been until now, but that was probably because she had been running on adrenaline earlier that day in angst to see Ms. Mills. But now that she was resting and all of the excitement was over, the lack of sleep from the previous day had taken its toll on her. She probably really should be getting home so she could do just that.

Although, Emma didn't know the time, but she assumed that it was rather late considering the sun had no longer glowed through the blinds. She bit her lip and searched the room for a source of time, nearly grunting in approval upon finding a clock on the far wall.

It was passed seven. Mary Margaret knew that she wasn't going to be home directly after detention today, but she hadn't exactly specified when she would be back, either. Usually they had an agreement that she would be back before ten on school nights, so she _did_ have a couple of hours yet. Plus, she didn't have the heart to wake up Regina. She looked so peaceful, and sounded much like someone threw a rock into a machine, because that woman could _snore_.

Emma smirked at the imperfection that she had discovered. It didn't bother her any, though. She quite liked it. It made the brunette _real_. And _that_ was just _perfect_. No matter what Emma could find that would be indecent or imperfect on this woman, she would always turn out to be everything that the blonde had dreamed, as cheesy as that had sounded. But it was the absolute truth. She always dreamed of having someone there for her. Someone that would love her as she had come and not try to change her. Someone who was very much like Regina with her kind, caring, and concerned demeanor that would be willing to take care of the blonde when she was kicked and to express such kind words when she needed them the most.

If she didn't know what was what, she'd say she was falling rather hard for the brunette. She really liked her, and she knew that. Her feelings were inexpressible with the use of words and welled so much inside of the blonde that she felt as if she would explode at times. And that would happen more often than not when the brunette did something that triggered those emotions, even so much as _smiled_ at her.

Whatever was happening between the two of them was just the beginning and Emma knew that it could go one of two ways. It would either blossom into a beautiful flower and live up to its fullest potential, or wilt and die just like everything else in her life had at some point. Whatever it may be, Emma was scared as hell. She didn't want the heartbreak, but she also didn't know how to handle things if they ever got more serious.

Those thoughts were all too frightening and they were beginning to push Emma on the edge of unease. She really needed to think about something else for now. Perhaps if she just slept on it since the heaviness of her eyes seemed to be weighing the blonde down. Anyways, it wouldn't hurt to take a nap. She had plenty of time. And if not, she'd catch hell for being late.

It was totally worth it, she thought, looking down to the brunette still snoring peacefully on her lap.

_Yes, so worth it._

Emma closed her eyes and leaned into a more comfortable position against the side of the couch. With her head lying back against the couch, she erased all thoughts from her mind and let go, evening her breaths out. The slight shifting at her legs only had the blonde smiling wider before eventually drifting off with ease to the sound of her companion's breathing.


	11. Secrets and Plans

******A/N: Yesss, I know I am _late_ again! I might end up posting a chapter every two-three days now, instead of one every day or every other. I keep getting so distracted and can't concentrate, so it's been quite a shitty ride. But, I have completed it after spending five hours straight finishing it up! I hope you enjoy! :) Also, thank you sooooo very much for the nice feedback! I really appreciate it and they totally make me smile (especially your shameless suggestions!) I shall keep those suggestions in mind and I *think* that I have a few ideas down for that, soooo... Enjoy this shiny new chapter! And please, tell me what you think! (If you feel so inclined to leave a suggestion, please do so. I'll take it into consideration if I hadn't already planned something similar to it)**

* * *

There was a prodding finger jabbing against her ribs that had aroused Emma from her sleep. The blonde, though, merely grumbled a complaint and shifted more comfortable in the spot where she was. Which, currently, she had no clue where the hell she was. It felt kind of lumpy and when she moved, her skin stuck to the surface.

It wasn't until another prod did she finally give in and open her eyes, momentarily confused by her surroundings and the looping title screen of a horror movie on the television. A much, much larger television than she had been used to at home.

"Welcome back, Emma." That husky voice sounding from beside her had Emma alert and awake in no time.

_Shit, that was Regina._

Then she finally remembered where the hell she had been and that, no, none of what had happened was part of a dream. This was real, and very much so. She turned to look groggily at the source of noise to be met with an equally as tired brunette.  
"I could say the same for you," she mumbled tiredly, a yawn soon ripping from her throat. "You were out for most of the movie."

"I do apologize, dear. I hadn't slept well."

"I kinda got that." Emma smiled. "Did you nap well, though?"

"I slept like a baby." Regina beamed, folding her hands onto her lap. "And I must thank you for that."

"Must you? You were so… _adorable_." she whispered the last word before it had completely died on her tongue. "I mean, you just _cuddled_ me… well, _after_ you nailed me with your elbow. Have you ever noticed how goddamn bony that thing is?"

That had caused Regina to lift her arm arm and eye the offending elbow. "Well, I suppose that they are. They make for a great weapon?"

"Yeah, but not to your cuddle buddy." Emma hesitantly reached over to grab the older woman's arm and poke at her joint.

"Cuddle buddy?" The brunette blinked, her chocolate orbs on Emma's actions as she proceeded to prod at her elbow, for what she thought was really no good reason.

The blonde had nodded at the question, ceasing her movements only to wrap her arms around Regina's own. "Yes. You literally cuddled me in your sleep. I'm not sure what position you woke up in, but you had turned around and wrapped your arms around my waist. And just… _snuggled_."

The new information had Regina staring at the blonde, her body slightly rigid. "Well…" then a rosy blush bloomed vividly onto her cheeks.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. I liked it." Emma reassured, the cheesiest smile on her pale lips. "Although, I've never been much of an affectionate person."

"I'll try not to-"

"But… I like the cuddly Regina." Emma whispered softly. "You didn't let me finish. I'm not much of an affectionate person, but I wouldn't protest to it if given to me… by you, at least." The blonde offered a sheepish smile before finally releasing the English teacher's arm, then tried to scoot even closer against the brunette. "I don't know what it is, but whenever I'm with you, I feel… at a sort of peace."

"You do?" Regina's arm slowly found its way around the blonde's waist, the warmest of smiles molding her lips.

Emma only nodded as she leaned into the older woman's arms, one of her own awkwardly wrapping around her abdomen. She really wasn't much of an affectionate person and it had always felt awkward when she was involved in situations that involve hugging and the like. The blonde usually found herself awkwardly returning the gesture or just plain freezing up in her spot, not even as much as lift an arm. Rarely did she ever initiate such a thing, and even when she did, she always had this _fear_ of being rejected. She supposed that it had been one of the many perks that she had gained throughout her life in what she liked to refer to as hell.

But with Regina, everything always felt so different. She actually _wanted_ to be touched by her, albeit it was quite strange and foreign, but it felt as if she were floating on a celestial cloud whenever she was around this woman. These feelings that she had for Regina were far from the juvenile crush that it all had originated with. They had developed into something far more advanced than what Emma thought she could even handle because her heart felt small, and way too small to harbor all the _love_ that she should be able to offer the brunette.

Whatever was happening between the two would just not be fair for Regina, because Emma felt as if she couldn't give her all of what she deserved. The blonde had received very little love within her lifetime and had given out even less. It was a strange concept to _love_ someone. She never knew what it was supposed to feel like- and if these feelings that she _did_ have for the brunette were just that… Boy, was she just _terrified_.

"Emma, honey, it's almost nine-thirty. Do you know when you have to be back?" Regina's husky voice broke the silence, which had been so very comfortable for Emma since she was easily lost in thought. Did she really hope that the brunette hadn't gotten bored as her mind wandered aimlessly.

"Mary Margaret usually prefers it if I were home before ten. So, I suppose I should get going…" The frown on her face showed Emma's reluctance to go. She really wished that she didn't have to go back. Being here just felt so _freeing_ and she felt so at _home_, even though her true home lay across town with the Nolans.

"I'll take you back, dear." Regina stated, pulling Emma close against her side and the blonde had assumed this was a hug, for she squeezed right back.

"Thank you, Regina, but I don't want to inconvenience you." And there was that ever modest Emma shining through.

The brunette quirked a brow and eyed her wryly before standing up with Emma still attached to her hip. "I'm taking you home and that's final, Emma. I do not want you to walk around on the streets alone at this time of night. It can be quite dangerous, even if this is a small town. Bad things can still happen. The sheriff is your father, correct? He should know."

"I know…" Emma mock pouted. "I'll go with you, _Ms. Mills_."

Both of her eyebrows rose this time in perfectly manicured arches. "I thought you've took habit of addressing me by my first name, _Ms. Swan_." Although her voice was monotonous, the amused smile on her face had given away her perspective. Emma smirked.

"Well, you _are_ my teacher after all."

"Don't remind me." Regina mumbled, flicking a blonde lock away from Emma's face. "I'd really rather not think about such details for a while."

"I'm… sorry. I…"

Emma frowned, her brows knitted together. She hadn't realized that Regina didn't like that thought, and it was going to be quite a strange thing, considering that Emma had her class. Everyday would be a reminder to the two of them that they were in a forbidden relationship. That they were a teacher and a student.

Although, the thought _did_ thrill Emma to a certain extent. She entertained the fact that she was virtually dating her teacher. She was able to see behind the usual professional mask and know more about the teacher than anyone else would ever dream. The blonde was able to see Regina in the more intimate moments that no one else would ever experience. It was a thrilling thought, and when she sat in the back of the English instructor's classroom, she felt so _special_ for once in her life. She felt so special that _the_ Ms. Mills had chosen _her_.

"It's fine, dear. We have to face the harsh reality of it some time." Her voice had now taken a solemn tone and the usual joyful spark in those whisky orbs had died.

"I wish we could live obliviously and not have to worry." Emma nibbled on her lower lip. The two of them had started moving towards the front door now and it wasn't until they had reached the Mercedes did Emma realize she had left her bag in the car. "But then that would mean that _everyone else_ would have to be blind as well."

"Indeed it does, my dear." Regina sighed as she slid into the driver's seat of the vehicle. She then proceeded to fasten her seat belt and start up the Mercedes before pulling out of the driveway and onto the paved street.

"Do you regret it?" The blonde finally asked after a few moments of silence.

"Regret what?"

"Liking me." The blonde said quietly. "I know it's been like, what, one day? Well, since we confessed to each other… But… What I mean is that do you regret liking me because you could be liking someone else that wouldn't be so off limits to you? You could be liking someone that you could go on real dates with to real places instead of having to hide. You could actually have a _chance _if… I don't want to take your happiness away by forcing you to conceal your feelings so the outside world wouldn't know of them."

"Emma, please…" The brunette's words were nearly caught in her throat.

She didn't know where that came from. Emma seriously should never speak again. Her words were nothing but a lovely mix of verbal diarrhea that just would not stop coming out, no matter how hard she had willed it to stay in. It was inevitable.

"No," Regina finally said again, finding new strength in her voice. "I do not regret liking you. I will _never_ regret it. For the kindness and consideration that you have given me throughout these months and the patience that you have… _Everything_ that you've given me is special and I would not take back a single _moment_, even if it meant that I would be able to have a public relationship." The older woman glanced over to Emma, tears in her dark eyes. "I don't care about the harsh details of what we have here. I'd rather have to hide and have secret dates at home than have to lose you. Emma… It terrifies me how much you mean to me. It truly does and I don't know what the hell is going on. But what I _do_ know is that I will _never_ regret a single moment spent with you."

Now, Emma usually never got emotional- especially over such simple words- but here she was now with tears streaking down her cheeks. And it was right then, in that moment that Emma knew what love had felt like. It was quite strange to say that, and perhaps it wasn't a romantic love that she was feeling, but the feelings and emotions welling up inside of the blonde were just too much to handle. So the excess seemed to have decided to escape through her eyes.

What a bother.

It wasn't until they had pulled over at the side of the road in front of the Nolan's apartment building did Emma lean over and do that very thing that she so rarely expressed. She hugged Regina as tightly as she could, raw emotion falling at a rapid pace down her cheeks. When she felt arms take her petite form into them, a sob had wracked her body, sending it into minor convulsions.

"Oh, honey…" she heard a soft whisper above her, but she was unable to talk. Instead, Emma tilted her head up from the spot on Regina's shoulder and moved to kiss the older woman. It was nothing but light and sweet, all but a mere form of gratitude. And, perhaps, it had been more, but Emma didn't want to travel down whatever path that was. Instead, she basked in the moment, enjoying the tiny sparks causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand up and the way that Regina had so tenderly returned the kiss, her plump lips moving slowly against the blonde's pale ones as if she were trying to freeze time.

Emma knew that was something that she very well wanted. She didn't want to pull away, and she showed just that by clutching tighter onto the brunette's arms. But then she was shoved back, not forcefully, but enough to pierce the blonde's heart.

_Did she not want this?_

Hurt and confused green eyes met with brown, which were quite wide now.

"I saw someone pull back the curtains in your apartment," she quickly explained, pointing to the window on the second floor of the apartment building. Emma followed the finger and squint, noticing the small, shadowing form of Mary Margaret. "You might want to go, dear…"

And for the first time, Emma had noticed that the brunette teacher was breathless. Her words were airy and her chest was slightly heaving in the inky darkness of the car. The blonde nodded, dumbfounded for the sudden interruption. Everything had gone by so quickly and that kiss had left her dizzy, yet yearning for more.

"It's Mary Margaret. I have to go." The blonde teenager sighed softly and began to unlock the passenger's door. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yes." Regina nodded with a pleasant smile on her face. "Have a goodnight, Emma."

Emma paused with the door open, her feet planted on the ground as she twist her body to look at the brunette. "You too, Regina. Goodnight." And with that, she got fully out of the car and closed the door, taking one last glance back before lightly jogging up to the entrance of the apartment building.

Emma heard the roar of the engine as Regina took off by the time the door had shut. It wasn't long before she was up the flight of stairs and turning to knock onto apartment number three's door. Soon enough, Mary Margaret was there with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Emma," she greeted, tugging the blonde inside. "You're cutting it quite close, weren't you?"

"Yeah… Sorry, I sort of lost track of time." she muttered, looking to her feet.

"Did you eat?"

"Yeah."

"So, where did you go?" the pixie-haired brunette inquired, dragging Emma towards the couch. The blonde, for the most part, tried to cover the bruise on her eye. She had nearly forgotten to do so before her foster mother had opened the door. Of course, it was inevitable to try to hide it because she was quite sure that Mary Margaret or David would soon find out and question about what had happened. That really wasn't somewhere she wanted to go tonight. She didn't want Mary Margaret to fret any and smother her in sympathy.

"Somewhere."

"Who was that that dropped you off?" She pressed, tilting her head. "That didn't look like Ruby's car."

"That's because it wasn't." Emma hadn't exactly told Mary Margaret where she was going after school, and she had never asked. She more than likely assumed she was hanging out with either Belle or Ruby.

"Whose was it?"

How could she just lie to her foster mother? Really, there were no other excuses and no one else that she liked enough to spend the day with. But, she couldn't tell her Mary Margaret that she had just spent the day and ate dinner at her creative writing teacher's house. Right now, Emma was caught between a rock and a hard place. She couldn't lie and say it was Belle, because her mother also knew what the girl's father's car looked like, or van more so.

"Did you make a new friend?"

"No, Mary Margaret. You know I don't like people."

"Well… who was it, then? Was it…" Then she gasped and went wide-eyed. "Did you get a… _boyfriend?_"

Emma grit her teeth and suppressed an eyeroll. For some reason, her foster mother was ever persistent upon her getting a boyfriend. Of course, it was her default assumption seeing as to how Emma had never revealed her preference to girls, but she still wished Mary Margaret would lay off pressuring her about finding a _significant other_.

"No. If you must know, it was my tutor." And those words were out before she gained control of her mouth. Tutor? Well, she suppose that worked, seeing that Regina was her teacher after all. But, there was one problem and that was…

"But you have perfect grades?"

_Shit._

"Not in Government class." Emma found herself clarifying, and that was true. She didn't have that great of a grade in that class. "I needed help studying for tests."

"Oh. Who is tutoring you?"

"Ms. Mills," the blonde smoothly answered.

"Isn't she your creative writing teacher?"

Oops. "Yes, but she's much better at it than Mr. Glass." Emma shrugged and offered a smile. So far, she was telling the truth although around a white lie. White lie? It didn't hurt Mary Margaret any, really, that she wasn't _exactly_ tutoring with Ms. Mills.

"Oh…" The brunette looked thoughtful. "She must be very nice to help you with that."

"She is. No one else thinks so, though." The blonde wrinkled her nose and sighed softly. "Or at least they think that because her class is challenging to them."

"Why would that class be hard? Aren't you just writing in that class?"

"Pretty much, yeah. I mean, she teaches it perfectly, but I guess they don't like the way she grades assignments. People say no one gets anything higher than a B in her class." Thinking back on it now from the beginning of the school year and how she had been warned the very same, Emma thought it was quite silly. She had been _scared_ of stepping into Ms. Mills' classroom, but she was certainly glad that she hadn't skipped that class, because by staying, she had discovered that that was the best thing that has ever happened to her.

"But you have an A in that class?"  
"Exactly. The rumors must have just been started by a couple of students that didn't like her. I mean… I can see how they would want to hurt her reputation." Emma nibbled on her lower lip, going back to the previous day when the boys had been reprimanded by Ms. Mills, resulting in their repulsive insults.

"I suppose that is true. As a teacher, it's hard to get all of the children to like you because there's always that one bad apple that needs punishment." Mary Margaret eyed Emma suspiciously, but soon shrugged and smiled.

"Right…" The blonde nodded, fiddling with the strap on her bookbag.

"Are you going to see her again?" The brunette's question threw Emma off, for she whipped her head around and stared incredulously at her foster mother. It took a few heartbeats for her to register what Mary Margaret had asked and veer away from the lingering thoughts about their date, because surely the pixie-haired woman didn't know?

"Wh-what?" The blonde finally managed to stammer, green eyes blinking rapidly.

"Are you going to see-..." Then she cut the repeated question off, her mouth forming an O as she stared at her daughter's face. A hand slowly rose, hovering close to Emma's left cheek.

Then the blonde froze in her spot, trying not to react to the hand so close to her still tender flesh. The pain medication that Regina had given her wore off and her eye began to throb once again. It seemed to have gotten worse when her foster mother decided to hover her hand over the bruise with a finger lightly gracing over the purple flesh.

"What happened, Emma?"

"I was really hoping that you wouldn't find out." The blonde sighed softly and turned her head away from the hand.

"You do know that I would have found out eventually, right, Emma?"

"Yes. I know." Emma played with a blonde lock of hair, tugging on it anxiously. Now she really wanted to get away from Mary Margaret's soon-to-be interrogation. She knew that the brunette would question her endlessly until she would spit the answer out because it had happened several times previously. "I was just hoping to stall it… I didn't really want to worry you tonight."

"Why?" Mary Margaret furrowed her brows, her head slightly tilting "Did… Did _she_ do this to you?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Who hit you?" The brunette asked, leaning forward and giving Emma _that_ stare that she just could not return.

"That kid that I hit yesterday." Emma shrugged and finally returned eye contact with her foster mother. "They got payback after we got out of detention. No one was around."

"Did you tell Mr. Gold about this?"

Emma quickly shook her head, eyes widening incredulously as if that were the most bizarre suggestion that she had ever heard.

"Why not? You should have so they could be properly punished."

"Perhaps, but if I did, they'd only make my life a living hell. I know how it goes, Mary Margaret. You may have to use authority over people sometimes, but there's such a thing as too much before they start hitting back… and endlessly if you continue." Emma explained. She knew that Mary Margaret didn't have a firsthand clue about any of this, and from time to time, the blonde educated her foster mother about the hardships that she had endured throughout her life. The brunette had been shocked for the most part- since she had grown up in Storybrooke- and said that she just could not _fathom_ why someone would do such a thing. Obviously there were no bullies in her school, either, Emma had thought. She never gave any indicator to that.

The pixie-haired brunette was nodding slowly, trying to process the information that Emma had given her. "But-"

"Don't. Just… don't. I'm not going to do _anything_ to piss them off any further. They'll know if I told anyone- or at least a superior that could get them into trouble. They'll just come after me and this punch to the face was enough pain." She stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Mary Margaret watched her through narrowed eyes.

"I'm… tired. I think I'm gonna go pass out for the night." Emma mumbled, running her fingers through her blonde mane. "If you need me, wake me up."

"But you just got home?"  
The blonde shrugged and proceeded towards the stairs that led up to her room. "But I'm super exhausted and my face is killing me."

"Alright…" Mary Margaret frowned. "Goodnight, honey."

"'Night… mom." Emma offered her a warm smile before turning around to head back up the stairs, but not before the wide smile that broke out across Mary Margaret's face. The blonde rarely ever referred to the brunette woman as "mom," but when she did, it made the woman absolutely _beam_ and _that_ had made Emma's heart expand in her chest. Usually the blonde was never one for other people's emotions- especially happiness- but upon her arrival to Storybrooke, her perspective had been changed greatly. Perhaps that's what it meant to have real friends and family.

Storybrooke was literally a life changing place for Emma Swan. The blonde never thought that she could have such a happy point in her life after living in such a deep, dark hole alone. But the Nolans had helped her out and shown her the light. They showed her the good side of life and what those good things could bring her. And they had brought her so much. They gave her Ruby, Belle, and Graham- all of whom accepted her and liked her for who she really was. The Nolans themselves were such a great gift to the blonde teenager. They showed her such love and compassion that the blonde had never known and had now never wanted to give up.

And then there was Regina Mills. That frustrating brunette teacher was everything that Emma absolutely wanted and needed in her life. She was like the blonde's rock. And she understood everything that she had gone through- to a certain extent of course. But she didn't judge nor sympathize Emma over the darkest points in her life. Instead, she gave Emma comfort when no one else would and the blonde could very much do the same for the older woman.

Everything that had happened between the two was rather remarkable and felt like an absolute dream. But god, did Emma hope that this wasn't a dream. She wished dearly that it was reality because that very frustratingly gorgeous brunette was her goddamn _girlfriend_- however odd that may seem. But she was and Emma would want nothing more than to keep it that way. She was perfectly content at where she was in life and hoped that nothing would go wrong. Although, life did not work like that. Hopefully whatever thing that would be amiss wouldn't hurt her too badly. She'd been wounded enough and the mental scars seemed so very fresh.

* * *

It was finally Friday, Emma thought as she entered Storybrooke High, and it was her birthday tomorrow. Her _eighteenth_ birthday. The blonde never thought the day would come. She had dreamed about it since she was a young girl, because that day would mean that she was an adult- legally, that was. That meant that she could get the hell away from any shitty foster family that she would have been staying with at the time. The desire to turn eighteen had grown throughout her voyage between foster homes and the stay with abusive or neglecting parents. That was, until she met the Nolans. Of course, by then, she was already nearing the age of eighteen by being towards the end of her fifteenth year. But as she had gotten to know and fall in love with the young couple, her desire to turn into a legal adult had wavered until it dissipated into thin air.

And, unfortunately, she was turning eighteen tomorrow, which meant she was going to become an adult. But, really, that had meant nothing. She would be staying with the Nolans until she graduated high school- which would be about five months from now. And after she _did_ graduate, she would be leaving for college and leaving behind her friends and family.

_And Regina._

That thought scared the absolute shit out of her. She really didn't want to have to leave _anyone_ behind. Of course, the drive to Storybrooke wasn't an agonizingly long trip, but it was still far enough. She hadn't necessarily discussed any college plans with Ms. Mills lately, and since now that they were pretty much dating, she really needed to. But really, there were no promises that the two of them would _stay_ together and still be together when she did graduate.

Something inside of Emma, though, told her that they would still be together- and perhaps for a time much long after. Their relationship was already strong and the feelings that Emma didn't exactly express were whirling like a goddamn tornado inside of her. She was also quite certain that Regina felt the same- but she wasn't going to put any money on that.

All those thoughts and feelings were for something further down the road and should be addressed later, because right now, they scared the fuck out of Emma. She really wasn't ready for any of that right now. It was too damn early- in more ways than just one.

Shoving those thoughts away for later, Emma took her seat next to Killian in Mr. Booth's class. She brought out her needed notebook and a mechanical pencil, tapping it to a beat on the paper. Class didn't start in another few minutes, so naturally, that meant he would start talking to her like he always did. And it was just her luck that he was going to point out the bruise by her left eye.

"What happened there?" His voice broke the silence in the room.

At least barely anyone was in there. Stupid people always waited until the last minute before arriving to class. She never understood why, but then again, they probably had friends to talk to. Belle was usually in her class by now, as well, because she liked to get assignments done or studying in before school started. Wise girl, Emma thought. She usually did the same from time to time.

"None of your business." Emma mumbled her reply, making the tapping more furious.

Killian mock pouted. "Why? It mustn't be _that_ bad."

"Just drop it."

"Why?"

"Because I said so. Now just leave it alone."

"Fine." The brunette boy crossed his arms, but not before petulantly sticking his tongue out at the blonde.

"Oh, how mature." Emma rolled her eyes.

"I heard you beat a kid up." He smirked. "Like on Wednesday. Is that who punched you?"

"Didn't I tell you to drop it?"

"And it was in Ms. Mills' room?" He completely ignored her. "I didn't catch the full story, but I heard you popped him one on the jaw for slandering someone."

"Where the hell did you even hear that from?"

"One of my friends, William, is in that class. He told me."

"What exactly did he say?" Emma grit her teeth. "Did he even know _why_?"

"I don't really think many people did. He said he sat in the front, but he saw you glaring over at Jefferson and Victor." _So that's what their names were. Huh_. "Then you screamed at them after Ms. Mills went back to her desk. He said you punched Jefferson after he said something when Ms. Mills tried to stop you."

"Oh," was all she replied, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

"Why'd you do it, anyways?" Killian asked, his head tilting.

"Why the hell do you want to know?" Emma snapped, dropping her pencil onto the paper. She was getting quite annoyed with his persistence. Normally, she would tell anyone the fact that she did win that fight- that was, until Jefferson had punched her back yesterday- but she really didn't want to reveal _anything_ about her feelings towards Ms. Mills, especially to Killian who would surely tease her just as bad as Ruby and Belle, or even worse.

"There must have been a good reason for it. I've heard people say _really_ cruel shit to you, but you just walk away. So he must have done something to really piss you off and act like that."

"That's exactly what Belle had said, pretty much." Emma murmured, trying her best to avoid the question. "And I do have valid reasons that I do not wish to express with you. So… Like… fuck off or something and leave it alone."

"Fine. Fuck. I'll just ask Jefferson or Victor. I'm sure they'll tell me."

Then panic shot through Emma in that moment and she sat bolt upright in her seat. Oh, god, he better not ask and they better not tell. Because if he did and they did, she was totally screwed. Killian would know of her crush because she was quite certain that those boys would emphasize the fact that she had been defending Regina and insinuate that there was something between the two, or at least something unrequited.

She had two options. She would either have to tell Killian the exact reason _why_ and hope to dance around the subject, or she would have to keep quiet and hope that he was only kidding when he said he would ask the two jerks. For now, Emma decided to chose the latter option. Perhaps he wouldn't ask them, and if he did, he might come to Emma and confront her about it.

"Go ahead. I don't care. They'll probably just lie or something anyways to make themselves look good." Emma shrugged nonchalantly, trying to keep her composure cool as she relaxed back into her seat.

"_Whatever_." Was his response which had earned an eyeroll from the blonde.  
It wasn't too short after did the bell ring and school start. The entirety of the first period class was rather quiet with a few notes and worktime for a piece of writing that they needed to get done. That left Emma to her thoughts, although she had tried so desperately not to think of the outcome if Killian so happen to ask either Jefferson or Victor about the little fight. The blonde desperately concentrated on her paper, ignoring the sideways glances from Killian and the occasional stare at her face from her classmates. The period couldn't end fast enough for her, for she was out of there by the end of the bell and on her way to math.

The rest of the day from there was rather mundane. The pest of her life didn't bother to speak to her during either of the classes that they had together- although in gym class they were separated for the most part, in which she thanked whatever the hell that that had happened. No doubt he would continue to pester her about it, because she was quite sure he wasn't buddy-buddy with the two boys. And the reminding thought of the two boys made her stomach do flips because next period she would be in the same class with them. For a full fifty-five minutes. So for all of her gym class, she had worrying thoughts and high anxiety about going to her creative writing class, which had ultimately caused her to receive one hell of a stomach ache. That hadn't fared well with the physical activity that she had to do and she nearly vomited on the track. Suffice to say, had sent her to the girls' locker room to sit out for the remainder of the period.

Of course, leaving Emma alone with her thoughts had only made the nausea worse- but at least she hadn't vomited. Although, she wished that she had because she would have an excuse to go home and skip fourth period.

By the time she reached her fourth period class, she was on edge with clammy palms and shaking limbs. She was nothing but a bundle of anxious nerves, and seeing the two culprits sitting in the seats next to her own. Swallowing thickly, the blonde took her seat, trying to inch the desk and chair closer to the teacher's. It was just her luck that Ms. Mills had been watching with raised brows and a questioning stare.

"Did you make a new seating chart?" Emma whispered low enough for only Regina to hear. "I really don't want…"

"Yes, dear. I'll have it up on the smartboard in a moment." Then she pushed her office chair away from the desk to stand, a small remote suddenly appearing in her hand.

"Thanks…" The blonde quietly muttered, offering a sweet smile to the brunette who, in return, gave her a warm grin that had just completely melted Emma's heart. What a way to be so goddamn mushy, she thought. God, she really wanted to touch Regina right now. The woman was a walking piece of art and that wonderful look that she gave Emma made her want to squeeze and kiss the hell out of her. Too bad that they were in class right now.

"Of course, honey." Ms. Mills arm started to reach out towards the blonde, but stopped herself and pulled it back after realizing where they were. Emma bit her lower lip, giving her a look that she understood before the brunette turned to head towards the front of the room with a smile brightening her muddy eyes.

Ms. Mills leaned against the podium at the front of the classroom as students filed in, a mere minute before the bell. It wasn't until after the ring had sounded and all of the students took their regular seats did the brunette teacher announce that they had new seating charts. There was a collective groan, but they all stood up and obliged as she turned the electric board on to reveal the chart. Each student silently took their new seats, except for Emma who had been suspiciously placed in the same seat next to her teacher's desk. Hopefully no one necessarily noticed, or if they had, they didn't care enough to say anything.  
Emma was happy as well, for more reasons than just one. Jefferson and Victor were placed far from away from her, more specifically, across the room. And she was still sitting next to Regina, which had her quite happy because the older woman's spicy perfume had a sort of calming affect on her. It was rather nice and it soothed her frazzled nerves.

Far too soon, the class was over and everyone was filing out of the room like they always had. Emma stayed quietly in her seat, waiting for the last of the group to leave before bringing her chair over to her regular spot. But much to her disdain, a student had stay, and that student was none other than Victor Whale. What an ass. He was talking with Ms. Mills, but Emma couldn't quite get what he was saying. The brunette's facial expression was blank, but the teenager's was an open book. There was anger in his eyes, but a friendly smile on his face. She assumed her had asked about the homework from the past two days since they hadn't been there- or, well, at least yesterday.

Regina handed the blonde haired boy two pieces of paper before seeing him out and heading over to her desk. Emma looked up at her, irritation clearly evident on the brunette's features which had ultimately made the blonde angry.

"What was that about?"

"He was getting yesterday's assignment for Jefferson and himself." The teacher sighed heavily and heavily sat in her chair. "I can tell that he hates me. I can see it in his eyes."

"Hey, don't worry about him, Regina…" Emma frowned, taking a chance as she reached out and gently took the brunette's hand in her own. She gave it a reassuring squeeze. "He's not worth the time nor effort. If it weren't frowned upon, I'd say fail his ass."

"Oh, don't worry, dear. He's already doing that for himself." Regina softly muttered, gratefully returning the squeeze. There was soon a deep breath as she relaxed and let a smile float across her lips. "Thank you, Emma. You make me feel so much better."

"It's really nothing. I just enjoy seeing you happy." Emma tentatively reached up with her free hand and grazed a finger over the curve of her teacher's lips. "Your smile is really beautiful, do you know that?"

Emma heard Regina inhale sharply, then suddenly she grabbed the blonde's wrist and held it above her mouth. She lightly pressed her lips against the soft skin, trailing them up to give the pad of Emma's fingers a kiss each. The blonde shivered, her teeth grinding almost painfully into her lower lip.

"I want to take you out."

"Pardon?" Emma blinked at the brunette. The statement was so sudden and so out of context, she didn't know what the hell Regina was talking about.

"I want to take you out." She repeated simply. "To Boston. For your birthday. I want to buy you dinner… and at a restaurant. Boston is the safest place."

"Dinner in… Boston?" The blonde's eyes widened, those words dizzying her. Regina wanted to take her on an actual _date_ to an actual _restaurant_?

"Yes. Tomorrow night. I mean… if you want to come and if you can."

"I…" Emma squeezed Regina's hand quite tightly, earning a faint squeak from the brunette. "I'll have to… I'll have to check with Mary Margaret."  
Holy shit, was she really fucking this up? Her mind was scrambled with incredulous thoughts and her mouth was just as bad. She felt as if she couldn't even form a coherent sentence right now. Was this really happened? The statement had Emma so thrown off course, she was clearly in a pond somewhere. She fucking fell off Rainbow Road.

"Please, do. I'd… I'd really like to thank you properly and since it _is_ your eighteenth birthday…"

"That sounds so fucked up… I mean… with our ages… and I'm… and holy _fuck_."

_Thank you very much, brain, for the vulgar amount of verbal diarrhea._

Regina was staring at her with big, brown eyes. "I'm sorry…" she finally muttered.

"N-no, no… don't be. I'm just… holy shit, you're going to take me on a date._ To Boston_. That's, like, the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. You're incredible and I could just kiss you." And so she did. Emma surged forward and planted one right on Regina's awaiting lips, bringing the brunette to a halt before she could say anything more. Even though she had been caught off guard, the brunette was already kissing Emma back, her fingers lacing with the blonde's.

Unfortunately, they both had realized where the hell they were and what exactly they were doing, for they quickly pulled away from each other with flushed cheeks.

"Sorry… I just couldn't help myself."

"It's quite alright, dear." The brunette breathed, the widest and whitest smile on her lips. Then she began to chuckle, and oh, was it so rich and melodic. Emma dubbed it as the sweetest noise that she had ever heard, and she rarely ever favored a specific sound, so that was saying something.

"What?"

"You've seemed to have donned a lovely shade of red on your lips, my dear."

"O-oh…" Emma blushed, her tongue subconsciously coming out to lick at her lips.

Regina couldn't help but to chuckle once again before handing over a tissue from her desk. "Here."

"Thanks," she mumbled and gratefully took the tissue to wipe up the borrowed lipstick. "So, uh, Regina?"

"Yes, Emma?" The brunette smiled. It was still quite odd, for the both of them, for Emma to call her teacher by her first name. But, it also felt so very _normal_, as if she had addressed her by that from the start. Everything about their relationship, lest it be romantic or not, felt so very familiar and _right_ that it was just plain scary. They rode with the flow, not questioning anything of that ilk. It was for the best not to dwell nor worry, anyways.

"Ready to eat?" she smiled cutely and pulled out the paper bag from her backpack with her free hand, for the other one was still laced with Regina's. She didn't mind. Honestly, she quite enjoyed the feeling of the older woman's hand in her own. No wonder why couples held hands all the time. It made them feel much closer and intimate with one another.

"Yes! I am quite famished." The brunette smiled, brown eyes watching as Emma pulled out two containers. She quickly passed one to Regina and kept the second for herself.

"I dunno what it is today. She never tells me." Emma muttered, mostly to herself, as she opened her to-go box, revealing a tinfoil wrapped something in there. She blinked and picked the food product, suspecting that it was grilled cheese. And she was proven right upon unwrapping the sandwich. "Mm, my favorite."

"You do quite enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches, don't you, dear?" Regina purred, taking a bite of her own already unwrapped sandwich. "They are delicious, but I much prefer pasta."

"Pasta?" Emma quirked a brow, hungrily wolfing down her meal. "You like pasta?"

"Yes. Is it a shame to like pasta?"

"I wouldn't think you would." The blonde teased, a sparkle in her emerald eyes.

"And why is that?"

"Don't they have a lot of carbs or something? Starch? All that unhealthy stuff?"

Regina stared at her. And then continued to do so without a word.

Until she spoke one word, stretching it out by its vowels. "_Really_."

"What?"

"I am not some sort of health nut, Emma. I really, honestly do not give a damn what I eat."

That took Emma by surprise. But then again, the more she thought about it, it _did_ make sense. She hadn't seen the older woman eat anything particularly healthy besides those salads, which were long gone.

"Holy shit… You're my new hero."

"I'm your new… hero? Pardon?" Regina paused her motions to take another bite from the sandwich.

"You have _the_ perfect body and yet you eat _anything_ you want. I mean, yeah, I do that, too… But, seriously. I usually run, though." Emma nodded slowly before finishing off her grilled cheese with a large bite.

"I take jogs in the mornings and sometimes the evenings." The brunette shrugged. "Or walk around town for a while during the spring and summer. I do try to keep in shape, dear."

"You still look perfect." Emma grinned. "And your _ass_."

"Pardon?" The teacher's eyes widened.

"N-nothing. Went too far. Do _not_ mind me at all." Emma mumbled, shoving the ball-shaped tinfoil into her mouth.  
"What the hell are you doing?"

"_Nuffin_'" she mumbled around the ball in her mouth. "I jus' shoul'n'talk."

"You just complimented my ass, didn't you?"

"Yesh."

"Hm…" The brunette smirked. "Please do not feel inclined to write an entire story about my ass as you did about my lips, dear."

"Water yew talkn' 'bout?" Emma plucked the tinfoil from her mouth, a blush quite evident on her cheeks. "That could have been about _anyone_."

"Tell me, who else has 'perfect, red and delicious lips that taste like apples and caramel coffee?'"

"Shut up… and that was only _one_ scene in that story. _It was a character._"

"Ah, so the blonde with luscious, golden locks and the brunette with silky, raven hair aren't us?"

"Nope!"

_They totally were._ She really should have been far more careful when writing. Sure, she had turned this in today as an assignment and had written it after they kissed in the car, so it hadn't been like she was still crushing on her teacher and had turned it in dumbly as if she were trying to pretend it not to be them. She wasn't _that_ stupid.

"Whatever you say, dear." Regina's lip curled up slightly to reveal perfect, pearly white teeth. "I did quite enjoy your story, though, dear."

"Good. I wrote it for you." Then she winked and leaned back in her chair, accidentally tugging at their hands which were still linked together.

"You're sly, Emma, I must give you that." Playfully, the brunette tossed her crumpled up tinfoil at Emma, hitting her directly on her bruised cheek. The blonde winced, hissing in a breath when a sharp pain radiated from her cheek.

"_Fuck!_ I'm sorry, Emma. I didn't mean to aim so high!" Regina looked absolutely panicked as she leaned forward, fretting over the injury on Emma's cheek. Her lips ghosted over the bruised flesh, lightly pressing every so often to give Emma's cheek a peck. "I didn't hurt you too bad, did I, dear?" When she pulled away to stare into the blonde's green eyes, Emma's heart dropped. She looked so goddamn panicked and worried, it just broke her heart. She looked scared, as if Emma would hate her for such a simple mistake.

"I-I'm fine, Regina. Please… don't worry about it." The blonde leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her teacher's cheek. "It doesn't hurt. Okay?" That wasn't a total lie. Of course, it hurt like one hell of a bitch when she was first struck with the pointy tinfoil, but after those sweet little kisses, it felt so much better. Regina was such a goddamn sweet woman and Emma just could not believe that she was ridiculed and insulted as a bitch. If only they could see the true woman for who she really is.

The brunette reluctantly nodded. "If you say so. I-I really didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it, Regina. Things happen." Emma closed her eyes and wrapped her free arm tightly around the older woman's small frame. "I still like you, and even more so now than ever. You're sweet and I know you meant no harm. Please do not kick yourself. You don't deserve it."

"Emma…"

_Bleeeeeep!_

"Fucking bell!" Emma cursed, glaring at the door. Of course it had to interrupt them and of course these stupid classes had to end. There was just not enough time in one period- or lunch for that matter- to do something.

"Sweetheart, you might want to get going." Regina straightened out, her fingers slowly unlacing themselves from Emma's. "I will see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah…" Emma frowned to herself, already missing the warmth of the brunette's hand. But she reluctantly stood and gathered her items to leave for her next class. "Please, have a good day and _don't_ worry about _anything_. You're still number one, yeah?" she grinned sheepishly at her last words. "And I'll let you know about tomorrow… somehow."

"Would you like me to give you my number, dear?" Regina had found a black ballpoint pen and one of the pass booklets where she had immediately began to write down a number before ripping it from the pad to hand to the blonde. "Here, Emma. Text me or call me after school, alright?"

"Yeah," Emma smiled and took the paper, holding it close to her. "I will. And I'll let you know."

"Thank you." The brunette beamed. "I'll talk to you later then, yes?"

"Yes."

"Have a good day, Emma."

"You, too, Regina!" And then Emma was out of there, floating down the halls on a cloud. Good god, she just acquired the English teacher's cell phone number. And, holy fuck, they were supposed to go on a goddamn _date_ tomorrow night- of course, if Mary Margaret would let her after making up a valid excuse. She might have to have Ruby cover for her somehow.

_Somehow._

She never told her friends about what was going on between she and Regina, and she had never planned on telling them. Oh god, what was she going to do? She was absolutely screwed out of an excuse to tell Mary Margaret without revealing to _someone_ that she was going to go on a date with Regina.

Emma groaned with frustration, slamming the door to her government room against the wall accidentally. She needed to figure out what to do, but for now, she needed to clear her mind and focus on class. She was already nearly failing this class, so she couldn't necessarily afford to space out today. Focus. Government. Politics.

_Regina._

This was going to be a long period.


	12. Cold

**A/N: And here it is, super duper duper late! (Although, just in time for Regina's birthday!) Holy shit. My week has been quite hell, and this weekend was rather busy, but I managed to get this chapter all written up for you! It's really long, just a bit longer than chapter 10 was. I hope that makes up for it. Anywho, thank you all for your lovely reviews and suggestions that you have given me. They have no doubt helped me build the path to where this is going. AND YES. Next chapter shall be the date, do not worry. I couldn't fit it in here. **

**Buuuuut, I do hope you enjoy the update and bear with me over anything that may not make sense. :D Leave a review and tell me what you think! For now, happy reading!**

* * *

_This is so extremely boring. Why can't he find something for us to do? I'd really rather be scrubbing floors rather than sit here, twiddling my thumbs as those assholes watch me. Okay, well, maybe scrubbing the floors would be a bit too much- but at least something was better than nothing._

Emma growled her thoughts, echoing those words inside her head along with several profanities. It had been absolutely _boring_ sitting in the same spot she was the previous day with absolutely nothing to do. Mr. Gold had said that they should catch up on homework as they wait out their insubordination, but naturally, Emma didn't have any. She usually sped through any class work _inside_ of class so she wouldn't have to bother taking any of it home. The other option was a book to read and, sure, that would have been no problem at all if the blonde hadn't finished the last pages in the first five minutes after her arrival.

Which had also reminded her, she needed to return the three books that she had borrowed from Ms. Mills and replace them with the next three books in the series. To say the least, Emma had been thoroughly entranced in those vampire romance novels and she just _could not_ get enough of them. It was rather hard to put the damned thing down upon picking it up.

She sighed and slumped down in her seat, her hands poking around in her kangaroo pocket for really no reason at all. Her fingers grazed over the sleek surface of her cell phone, then soon passed over the plastic of her mechanical pencil and ended up fumbling with a piece of paper.

_Paper?_

Emma blinked and pulled that paper out of her pocket. It was a slightly crumpled up pass paper. She merely shrugged it off, believing that it was an old pass that a teacher never took, but upon further inspection, she had noticed that there was something written on it- and not the usual excuse words. It was a number.

Regina's number.

And Emma's phone was in her pocket.

And she was currently bored.

Careful not to let anyone see, she quickly slipped the phone from her pocket and hid it slightly underneath the table. Jefferson and Victor were both too busy not doing what they were supposed to, so they never took notice. And Emma didn't want them to. They'd probably tell the principal who, at this moment in time, was in his office.

The blonde woke her phone and went straight to the contacts menu to enter Regina's number into her phone, then selected the new message button.

_Hey, this is Emma. I hope I'm not bothering you._

Emma quickly pressed send and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. As she waited for her phone to vibrate in response, she leaned back against the plastic chair once again and sighed. It was still rather boring sitting here, doing nothing. But at least she had something to look forward to now, as she waited for a response from her teacher.

She let her mind wander at the thought of the brunette woman and Boston. Emma had tried not to think about it all day, but whenever she wasn't occupied with work, her mind immediately went to that date they were supposed to have. And then her brain began to panic over the thought. Like, how was she going to come up with an adequate excuse to go to Boston when it was with her teacher- or so Mary Margaret would think- since, in reality, Ms. Mills was her girlfriend. Or something like that.

There were many possibilities- most involved using one of her friends- for an excuse. Ruby would be working at the diner, or else Emma would have picked the brunette waitress. That would be a more excusable reason, seeing as to how she had her own car. But Mary Margaret frequented the diner often and usually had dates with David there, especially when Emma was staying the night with a friend. So, that meant Ruby was not going to be a liable cover for this weekend.

There was Belle, but she didn't have a car and everyone knew that her father, Moe French, wouldn't let the brunette teenager borrow his van and he sure as hell wouldn't take them to Boston. It would have been more plausible if Emma were to be going with _both_ of her friends, since Ruby had her car and Belle would be able to tag along.

With those facts on the table, that had ruled both of her friends out as a cover to go to the large city. Unfortunately, that left the blonde with very few options and her date with Regina was looking quite grim. How was she going to tell Regina that she could not come up with an excuse to go to Boston with her? She couldn't tell Mary Margaret about their relationship, that was quite dangerous and she was quite sure that the older woman would agree.

Then her phone buzzed inside of her kangaroo pocket and a smile immediately spread across her lips. Even when her thoughts were going into a downward step, any peep from the brunette just lifted her spirits. But then the thought of Regina and Boston sent a rock to the pit of her stomach. She had to tell the teacher of her dilemma. So, she started off with checking the message displayed on her screen with a dumb smile.

**_Hello, dear! I'm sorry I was unable to reply right away, I was grading a few papers. You aren't bothering me any. I honestly need a break. Are you having fun in… Aren't you in detention?_**

_Yes, I am. Sh… I'm a bad girl, I know._

Emma smirked and hit send. She didn't care if that sounded flirty or not, because really, that was her original intention. Regina wouldn't mind, surely? After all, they were far more closer than they had been. It wasn't long before she received a message back which had made an even larger smile break out on her face.

**_You sure are a naughty girl, aren't you? I suppose a lesson must be taught, yes?_**

Holy shit. Regina said that. All that was missing was a winking face.

_You just might._

**_Then you shall receive your punishment tomorrow night, Miss Swan._**

Emma couldn't help but to gawk at the screen of her phone, the message never leaving the blonde's sight as she reread the words several times over. What the hell did that mean, exactly? Was she insinuating something… _sexual_? Fuck, did Emma really need to find a solution to her problem because she sure as hell wasn't going to pass something like that up.

_About that, I don't have an adequate excuse to tell MM so I can go to Boston._

She bit her lip and hit send. She knew that she could have continued the little charade, but really, there would be no game if she didn't try to work this out with Ms. Mills first. It was something that needed to be done, especially considering that she might just be leaving in a little over twenty-four hours.

Perhaps Regina would be more level-headed and able to come up with a better solution than Emma had that wouldn't end in total failure. As she wait for the reply, Emma looked around the room for a moment. That's when she noticed Jefferson staring at her with narrowed eyes and an angry scowl. Wonderful.

Emma offered him a sneer in return before turning her body to check her phone after it had buzzed to life once again with another message from the brunette teacher. Oh, good god, did she hope that he wasn't watching her right now under suspicion because she really couldn't afford getting her phone taken away.

**_Don't you have a friend that lives up in Boston? Graham, is it?_**

Upon reading that message, the blonde wanted to hit herself. She very nearly forgotten about Graham _who lives in Boston_. That would be the _perfect_ excuse to go up there tomorrow night. It was her birthday, after all, and she could "tour Boston with Graham."

_You're a genius, Regina! You. Are. A. Fucking. Genius._

Emma refrained from ditching this shitty detention and running down the hallways towards Regina's room whilst screaming _"I love you!"_ at the top of her lungs. Because in that moment, she really did feel like doing that. Regina was like her other half. Where Emma was lacking, she perfectly filled in the missing pieces. The blonde couldn't complete this damned puzzle without the brunette.

**_Well, I certainly am flattered, dear. Thank you._**

_Fuck yeah, you're welcome. You're the goddamn missing piece of my puzzle, because without you, my brain would be in shambles._

Emma grinned and chuckled at her cheesy line. Why the hell did she just say that? At least she hadn't gone the other route and made it much mushier. _… because without you, my life would not be complete._

Yeah, right. Like someone could make another person's life just _complete_ like that. They weren't playing a videogame and there was no satisfaction to come in the end of finishing this damn torturous thing. People were just pawns on a board, being played out with their petty lives to only die in the end. They were literally born to die. Their life was nothing but a ticking clock. Some lived long, fulfilled lives while others passed before their time. It was a strange concept; life.

And where the hell was Emma pulling all of this psychological bullshit out of? One minute she was thinking about mushy feelings towards Regina and the next, she was questioning life. If that wasn't enough to tell how strange and random the blonde teen was, she wasn't quite sure what else would give her oddity away.

Her phone buzzed once again and she looked down, only to smile like a goddamn idiot at the device.

_**Without you, my dear adhesive, my heart would be in shambles.**_

It was simple, yet dealt layers of meaning that Emma was trying to comprehend. This woman was so much deeper in emotional status than the blonde thought would be possible to be given to her. Emma had never received such strong emotions towards herself, well, positive ones that was. Everything in her life had usually ended in war and nothing was peaceful. But this little blip in her life, a blip known as Regina had turned into so much more. She had turned into a rather large aperture in Emma's life and that had become quite terrifying. The blonde hadn't suspected such a thing would ever come from this, but she was dead wrong, and will most likely be for the rest of her life, because everything was turning topsy-turvy and she was getting fucking dizzy as hell. She needed to surface and catch a breath before she's drug deeper into the confusing ocean of emotions, but that didn't seem like a possibility anymore. She had dived headfirst into this and there was no way back. She could only go in deeper, like the hole she had dug herself by saying such words.

What the fuck was wrong with her?

_Have I really helped mend your heart? I know you've helped me…_

Emma closed her eyes, her thumb hovering over the send button. Should she really send that? Should she risk whatever conversation that might ensue after sending such a message? Would their conversation become much deeper and serious than it had started? She decided to take the risk and hit _send_.  
"Emma's got her phone out!" The blonde blinked and looked up to see Victor smirking at her as his jerkoff friend stared into Mr. Gold's office after screaming that out.

"Shut the fuck up, you tattle tale." Emma snarled, shoving her phone into her pocket as Mr. Gold came out of his office, a brow quirked at the blonde trying to sit innocently at her spot. But, of course, that stare that he gave her made the teenager squirm in her seat. Fucking crocodile

"Is this true, Ms. Swan?" The short man limped over to her, his cane supporting his weight with each stride. "Did you have your cellular device out during your punishment? I hope you do know that is not a part of the rules, dearie."

_Dearie?_

"Yeah…" Emma chose not to lie, knowing that it would only make the situation far worse. "I had nothing else to do."

"You know that I will have to take that away from you." His hand extended, his brown eyes cold as he stared almost unseeing at the blonde.

"Sorry…" she feebly mumbled, digging the phone out of her pocket, which so happened to vibrate with a new message from the brunette teacher.

_Fuck_.

She certainly was quite relieved that she hadn't used Regina's name for the contact, instead she chose to go with a few smiley faces. It would remain anonymous if anyone were happen to stumble across her cell phone, even though Emma was usually quite adamant about keeping the device on her person. And she was quite cautious not to use Regina's name while texting her, because who would only know what would happen if the _principal_ scrolled through her messages and saw what she was writing. Everything else remained quite anonymous for the most part. No one should be able to suspect that it was Ms. Mills. _Hopefully_, Emma added.

"Thank you," he grumbled, taking the small device with eyes gracing over the lit-up screen. "You shall receive this back at four. Now, find something to occupy yourself with." And with that, he turned around to limp back to his office.

When Emma found her eyes sliding over to the boys, she snarled. They were snickering to each other, of course. They were such petulant boys that got their entertainment out of something so _stupid_. Although…

The blonde turned her gaze to the clock above her table and sighed with disbelief. She still had a half hour. _Half an hour_ of doing absolutely _nothing_. And she knew that Regina had messaged her back with who knows what response. Oh, god, she hoped that the brunette teacher wouldn't get mad at her for not being able to reply. Maybe she would still be there after detention was over with? She could go pay her favorite teacher a visit and apologize profusely for her own insolence.

Well, perhaps this would give her the time to think over her plan. She needed to find and practice her excuse to tell to Mary Margaret. She was going to visit Graham in Boston for her birthday, that far she got. Now, there had to be more reasoning to it and perhaps she could say that he would pick her up? That would leave out the worry of her foster mother wanting to drive her up there.

But, what exactly would 'they' be doing? Graham could show her around Boston since she would be moving up there after graduation, perhaps? That would make sense and hopefully the elementary schoolteacher would accept that.

Emma felt so horrible about having to lie to that woman. She was nothing but kind to her and how did the blonde repay her? By lying to her face? But how else would she be able to go where Regina wanted to take her without lying? It would be absolutely unacceptable if the English teacher were to take her to Boston for absolutely no good reason. And it would only make matters worse if it were known that the reason why would be a date and perhaps more?

Which also raised the question about that controversial message that Regina had sent her. Was she really insinuating something? And if she were, where the fuck would that be happening at? Did Regina have plans on staying in Boston, or would she want to come back and take Emma home with her? Either way, Emma would be screwed because she would have to stay out later than Mary Margaret would like, if she were to not stay over somewhere.

Did Regina want to stay the night in Boston? That would be a whole different story and excuse to tell Emma's foster mother. Of course, it would also make quite a bit of sense. Why the hell would Emma go up to Boston with Graham later at night for only a few hours before returning home? That sounded like a complete rip off if Emma didn't know any better. And how would they even get to see any of the city if so? God, did she really need to clear things up with Regina before speaking to Mary Margaret because she was sure that the pixie-haired woman would interrogate her before she would leave- or at least gain a sufficient answer.

Hopefully she would be able to do that within the next hour, or at least as soon as she got her goddamn phone back because that had pissed her off. She hated those boys even more now than ever. They just wanted to see her _suffer_ because they were assholes just like that.

At least the time hadn't gone by as agonizingly slow as Emma had originally anticipated. Mr. Gold was out of his office in no time with Emma's cell phone in hand and a cane in the other.

"Alright, dearies, you are all free to go. I expect to see you back here after school on Monday. Do have a good weekend." His words were a little too forced and Emma could tell. He really didn't want them to have a good weekend. Hell, they were as good as common criminals in his eyes. Being in detention didn't help that fact.

It wasn't long before the principal hobbled over to the blonde with her phone extended in his hand. But before Emma could grab it, he lifted the device out of her reach. "And you, Ms. Swan, I certainly do hope that you plan to keep all electronic devices at home or in your bag. Next time I catch wind of a certain blonde with a cell phone, I will not hesitate to confiscate it and add more time onto your insubordination. Am I making myself clear?"

"Yes." The blonde nodded, receiving her phone when he had finally handed it to her. "I won't use it again."

"Good. Thank you." Mr. Gold's lips curled into an unpleasant smile before he turned to head back to the principal's office, but stopped halfway there and spoke in a bone chilling tone. "I do recommend that you leave your device on silent. The constant vibrations threw my concentration. Thank you."

Wait, her phone had been going off? And possibly more than once considering the man's agitation. Without a second thought, Emma checked her phone as she stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She had planned on quickly dropping by Ms. Mills room in hopes to apologize for not responding to the message. The brunette must be worried or angry at her. Or not…

When emerald eyes scanned through the several messages received, her heart sunk. Was she a fucking moron for getting caught? Really, she wished she would have been more discreet because it looked as if Regina was in a self-loathing state right about now.

The first message was in reply to the one that Emma had sent just before the phone was confiscated, and that had made the blonde just _swoon_.

_**Yes you have, my dear, more than you will ever know. I never thought that I would be able to feel this way for another person, but you have brought so much out of me, Emma Swan. I think I've fallen so deeply for you, and so hard as well. It scares me, Emma, it really scares me. You say I have helped you, as well? Do you feel the same?**_

It was really quite sweet what she had said and it brought those bothersome tears to her eyes once more. Because, yeah, that's exactly how the blonde felt for the brunette as well. She felt all of those overwhelming emotions that Regina had felt towards her, she was quite sure. She was just terrified herself that the feelings were unrequited and Emma was quite sure that the brunette teacher had those same fears.

And the next few messages that she had seen underneath that very one that made her heart well with emotion, just broke it down completely.

**_-It's quite alright if you do not feel the same. I just… I had to get that off my chest._**

**_-I do hope you know that you are not to feel inclined to answer, dear._**

**_-I'm so sorry, Emma… I didn't mean to scare you in any way…_**

**_-Sometimes I just don't know when to stop..._**

The blonde had shoved her phone into her pocket without a response and chose to quickly guide her feet to the English teacher's classroom. Who knows what this poor woman was going through right now. She really wished that she hadn't been caught- or at least that that stupid jackass Jefferson didn't snitch her out on it. Wasn't it enough payback by punching her? Obviously not, and this time he didn't even harm Emma, but their teacher with his goddamn insolence.

Emma was by Regina's classroom in minutes, slightly panting from her haste. But much to her discontent, upon further inspection, she had noticed that Ms. Mills wasn't even in the room. It was completely dark inside and after trying the handle, Emma concluded that she wasn't enjoying the dark because the door was locked.

_God-fucking-dammit._

Emma sighed and pressed her back against the door as she pulled her phone from her pocket. She needed to contact Regina somehow. Sending a message was always an option, but how would she truly express how she felt through _words_? Of course, great emotion was something best described in word, but writing them felt a cop-out.

Would the brunette even respond to her? And would she if Emma were to call?  
It was a chance that the blonde was willing to take, for she brought the cellular device up to her ear after dialing the older woman's number.

The other line had rung, bringing an anxious Emma to pace about the vacant hallway.

And then another ring.

And another.

Emma sighed. Regina wasn't going to pick up by the fourth ring, so the blonde had decided to give up and end the call. What was she to do now? She really did need to communicate with the brunette, especially if there were to be something tomorrow. Goddammit, she hadn't spent an hour fretting over the subject just to let it go so quickly.

The only logical solution was to go to Regina's house. Sure, it was quite risky and not to mention odd, but she needed to and she remembers just vaguely where it was. Pushing herself away from the door that she had found again, Emma marched down the halls to leave the school.

It wasn't long before she found the sidewalk and began trace the path to Regina's house that she had remembered they took after school on Wednesday. Of course, it had been much warmer then. Right now, it was fucking freezing and Emma was only wearing her hooded sweatshirt- which didn't necessarily protect her much from the bitter cold wind. She had been out here less than five minutes and she was already regretting the decision to walk. Who only knows how far away her house was from here and how much snow would be in her path.

Because, goddamn, that snow seeped into Emma's shoes upon impact and chilled her already aching feet. It hurt like a son of a bitch. Every part of her hurt like a son of a bitch from this frosty air. She would be lucky if she were able to speak upon her arrival, because she was sure that her entire body had turned into a human vibrator.

Emma could have wept when she saw the familiar manor come into view, and quite close at that. She crossed one street and she was there, nearly sprinting to the door in relief. Snow flung itself around her feet as more matted into her blonde mane from the sky. And, oh god, she was about to literally sob when she saw that familiar black Benz parked outside, looking all shiny and spectacular. That had meant that she was home and that Emma hadn't frozen her ass off for nothing.

Running as fast as her aching and frozen muscles could take her, Emma approached the door in… not so much record time. But, alas, she had arrived and knocked rather rapidly on the door. Boy, did she hope that Regina would answer that goddamn door. Emma was about five seconds away from knocking it down and running into the fireplace to thaw out.

Then, the door tentatively inched open along with the appearance of Regina's face. And, _shit_, she looked like she had been… _crying_? The flesh around her eyes were slightly puffy and her nose still red, but the look of utter shock and surprise in those brown orbs had dissipated the other indicators.

"Emma?" she whispered. "What are you… What are you doing here?"

"I-I… I c-came to ex-explain…" The blonde managed to utter through chattering teeth. It had only taken a few moments before Regina had realized Emma's state, and once she had, Emma was inside with her shoes and hoodie stripped, a pair of fuzzy socks on her feet and several thick blankets draped around her shoulders. The idea of Regina having a pair of such socks would have made Emma laugh if she wasn't too busy trying to keep from shivering excessively.

"Here's some hot cocoa, dear." The brunette teacher carefully handed over the black mug of steaming cocoa, a light smile on her face. "I had noticed that you ordered cinnamon with it at Granny's, so I took the liberty to add some for you. I hope you enjoy it."

"I-I will, very much. Th-thank you." Emma offered her a smile as she took the mug, nearly moaning at its warmth as it soaked through her hands. She quickly took a sip and closed her eyes. "That's good…" she purred, enjoying the warmth spreading through her body. It had already made her feel much better than she had upon her arrival.

"You're welcome, dear…" the brunette whispered, occupying the spot next to her.

"Regina, I-I wanted to talk with you." Emma shivered, pulling the blankets tighter against her. Perhaps it wasn't such a wise idea to walk over here in probably zero below temperatures. "About the text that you had sent me. I wasn't able to look at it because Mr. Gold took my phone."

Regina frowned and wrapped her arms tightly around Emma, the new source of heat felt wonderful on the blonde's still shivering form.

"Jefferson told him, or else I would have been able to tell you that… I feel exactly the same. I think I probably told you at some point, you know… I don't know what I say and what I don't anymore." Emma leaned into Regina, blinking slightly when the brunette tried to lift her up. Obliging to whatever silent request, Emma lifted her bottom off the couch and moved to where the older woman was guiding her, which had her ending up on the brunette teacher's lap with arms coiled tightly around her waist. The blonde smiled warmly and wrapped one arm around Regina's neck while the other still held her mug on her legs, then lay her head on the brunette's shoulder.

"I nearly cried when I read that first message. Do you know how sweet you are, Regina? I feel so flabbergasted that you chose _me_, or at least wanted to stay with me." her words were a near-whisper as the hand draped around Regina played with her raven locks.

"You… you really mean that, dear?" The brunette turned her gaze to lock in with Emma's, brown eyes were wide and filled with such fear that squeezed the blonde's heart.

"Of course I do, Regina. You mean so much to me, it scary. I've been at war with my emotions for you and it's just… it's so crazy. I've never felt like this before. And, honestly, I do not know how to handle it." Emma shrunk against the brunette's small frame, her grip slightly tightening as she watched the tears start to glisten in Regina's chocolate eyes. "I mean, I can't promise anything, really. I can't promise that I won't fuck up. I can't promise that I won't hurt you. I can't promise _anything_, but I hope that's not a turn-off for you, and if it is, I understand if you want to just turn away."

"Why on Earth would I want to do that, Emma?" Regina gently tucked a loose piece of hair behind Emma's ear, a watery smile on her plump lips. "Oh, dear. I believe that I had said this before, and I shall state it again, I will _not_ give you up that easily and I will not just leave you because of your faults. No one is perfect, darling, we all have our bad sides. I do, as well." She looked away, eyes focused on something across the room. There seemed to be an internal debate going on inside, and Emma could see it clearly in her eyes. She was conflicted.

"I do, too," she croaked after a moment of silence. "Will _you_ back away, Emma dear?"

"No," was the blondes immediate response. "I would never."

"I see," she said, and that was all she said for another extended period of silence. Emma watched as olive fingers played with blonde locks, twisting and twirling the strands around each digit. "About tomorrow, my dear, have you thought of an adequate excuse?"

"Yeah, I think so." The blonde shifted slightly on the older woman's lap, trying to be as carefully as possible so she wouldn't hurt her. "I was just gonna say Graham wanted to show me around Boston for my birthday."

"Oh?" Regina blinked, a slow grin spreading on her lips. "That sounds quite believable."

"It's wrong." Emma muttered. "But anything's worth hanging out with you."

"You… you really think so?" The teenager smirked when she saw a light pink dusting the teacher's cheeks a pretty hue.

"Of course, Regina. I told you, my feelings are fucking scary." Emma shrugged and dared to press a bold kiss to the older woman's cheek.

"_You're_ the sweet one, Emma." Regina purred, tilting her head to return the kiss to the blonde's own cheek. But then her lips moved, trailing light pecks across the expanse of pale skin until they ended on the corner of Emma's mouth.

Emma, on the other hand, sat rigid on the brunette's lap. Her breath had become short gasps for desperate need of air as her heart seemed to skip a few beats when it sped up.

"I like you a lot, Emma." The brunette teacher breathlessly confided, her lips hovering mere inches above Emma's.

"I like you a lot, too, Regina…" Emma softly replied, and that was true. She really did like Regina, and a lot at that. Although, the blonde feared that her feelings directed her to more than just liking, but she wasn't brave enough to voice that small voice in the back of her mind. She didn't know if she quite believed it, either. Only over time would she find the true answer and solve any waking questions in her head.

Every thought dissipated when she felt soft, luscious lips press against her own in a slow and sweet kiss. It felt different than the other ones that they had shared- even though there were very few. But she could differentiate them, and this one was definitely more… tender. She could feel the emotions pouring from Regina in _that_ kiss and it had seemed to short-fuse her brain.

Fortunately, she gained enough sense to return the kiss, easily willing her own emotions to step forth and take control of the intimate connection with slow moving lips sliding perfectly over lipstick covered ones. Emma's eyes slipped closed as she let the world around her fade away and enjoyed the pleasant bumps breaking out over her skin. This woman could make Emma float on a goddamn cloud with just a this simple, sweet kiss, and stir so much more inside of the blonde. Everything was _perfect_ with her, even when they had pulled apart when the kiss had came to a natural end. A _perfect_ end with soft, breathy gasps.

"Do you know how beautiful you are, Emma?" Regina smiled, licking her lips. "And you are, my dear, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on- both on the inside and out."

The blonde's eyebrows shot up to her hairline from the sudden compliment, but that didn't stop the blush that soon crept onto her pale cheeks. "You're really too kind, Regina…"

"Kindness has nothing to do with it. These are feelings and thoughts that I feel must be addressed. You deserve every wonderful compliment and I am willing to give them to you whenever I can." The brunette teacher's voice was a low hum as she tenderly ran her fingers through Emma's blonde locks. "Like how I love your hair. It reminds me of honey, for some reason. And it's quite soft and silky. I often find myself wanting to just… bury my face in it."

"What..?" Emma blinked. "You…"

"I'm sorry. Was that too much?"

"It's… fine. Just a little strange." The blonde shrugged and bit her lower lip, letting her fingers lightly graze across Regina's shoulder. "Just as long as I am able to express how much I love to touch you. Your skin, specifically. It's like velvet, you know? You must use some nice moisturizer, because _I_ often find myself fantasizing over touching your skin."

"My skin?" Regina couldn't stop the blush on her cheeks. "I do use good moisturizer."

"I knew it." Emma chirped. She _always_ fantasized about touching Regina and her flawless skin. It was usually, for the most part, to make sure that the brunette woman was real. And she was real alright, or at least that kiss had told her so. Also, she always had fantasized about touching _all_ of the brunette, but wasn't that just every girl's dream?

_Holy shit_, hadn't Regina suggested something like that through a text? She had… hadn't she? Which, with that in mind, had raised the question she had asked earlier. What the fuck were they going to do after getting to Boston?

"Hey, uh, Regina? I needed to ask you something. I know that it's kind of abrupt…" Emma shifted once again on the brunette woman's lap, her fingers anxiously playing with a stray lock of her hair.

"What is it, dear?"

"What did you… What did you want to do when we get to Boston? I mean, it would be kind of pointless to only go there for dinner so late at night, and especially when Mary Margaret would think I'd be visiting Graham. She'probably think I'd at least stay the night or something. I mean, I'm not really trying to insinuate anything. I-I was just curious." she elaborated, this time letting her hand gently massage the older woman's shoulder before adding quietly. "... and your text to me was a bit suggestive."

"Oh, right. You are correct, Emma." brunette purred softly, rolling her shoulder after the blonde had stopped. "Perhaps we could rent a hotel room to stay in for the night and pick up brunch before we leave?"

"A hotel room?" Well, hot damn, she had something planned out, didn't she?

"Yes. I could get us one with two beds if you wish."

"Two?"

"If you are uncomfortable with sleeping in the same bed as I, I mean."

"O-one would be suitable. I don't mind." Emma smiled shyly and, before Regina could see her face, she buried it in the older woman's hair. "Is it official, though? I would have to tell Mary Margaret about it."

"Yes. I can book a hotel room tonight so we are guaranteed to have one for tomorrow night." The brunette chuckled softly at the blonde's actions and playfully pinched her sides. "That is, if you feel inclined to come out of your hiding place before then."

"But I like it here…" Emma mumbled against Regina's hair. "Your hair smells like apples. And it's soft." And to prove just that, she inhaled deeply and giggled.

"Well, I am certainly glad to hear that, dear." The older woman smiled softly and squeezed the blonde tighter against her. "But you do know that you'll come out of there soon. You must tell your mother some time, yes?"

"Nah, I think I'll just let her continue believing I'm straight." Emma did, though, move away from Regina's hair to gaze down at the brunette with a mirthful smile. The look on Regina's face made the blonde laugh, and boy, laugh she did. Emma had ended up falling off the brunette's lap and hit the floor with a thud, but that hadn't fazed her as she continued to guffaw in memory of the face that was given in response to her statement.

"Emma! Are you alright, darling?" Emma heard rustling from above her, but she didn't give it any mind. She was in _tears_, unable to catch her breath. Why she thought it was so funny, she would never know. And the burning on her legs from the spilled hot chocolate went unnoticed.  
That was, until Regina had pulled the blonde into a sitting position on the floor, in which amused green met with concerned brown. It had taken a few deep breaths and couple of suppressed giggles until Emma had finally calmed enough to realized where the hell she was and why the hell her legs felt as if they were on fire.

"Are you alright, Emma?" Regina repeated, her eyes wide and wild with worry. "You took a hard fall, and the cocoa didn't stay in the cup."

"That's because it's on my legs." Emma gestured to her jeans, which were dark with spilled hot cocoa. "My ass hurts a little bit, or else, I'm okay."

"Take your pants off."

"And here I thought you were more dignified."

"Not like that…" Regina quirked a brow and pushed herself up with the couch, which had her soon standing with an arm extended. "You need to get out of those since you've spilled sticky cocoa all over yourself."

"Am I gonna walk around in my underwear, then?" Emma smirked, taking the offered hand to stand up. "Because, you know, I don't wear those cute kinds or anything."

"I…"

"Sorry. I just… shouldn't open my mouth." the blonde muttered. She was really putting too much flirt into this conversation with her teacher, well girlfriend._ Teacher girlfriend?_ Whatever the fact, she wanted to know why. Normally she would never-... well, she couldn't necessarily say that, especially since she never really had _flirted_ with someone she _liked_ so freely. It came way too easily to Emma when she spoke with Regina.

"It's fine, Emma." Regina offered her an amused smile. "I have a pair of pants that you may wear until yours are done washing."

"You're going to wash my pants?"

"You do still need to return home, don't you?"  
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Emma made a face of displeasure. "I wish I could stay here longer."

"But you cannot, my dear." The brunette gave her a look that said she wished Emma could stay as well, but that was something that could just not happen. "Why don't you stay down here while I grab something for you to wear?"

"Alright, thank you…" Emma mumbled with a smile as she watched the brunette teacher turn to leave the room.

This was happening, Emma thought as she tried to peel the material of her jeans away from her skin where the cocoa had spilled. Here she was, now pantsless, in Regina Mills' home. Never had she ever thought that would be a reality. Of course, the context didn't apply to where the rest of Emma's little fantasy would go. Everything about this situation was innocent, or so she thought. There was a possibility that Regina would come back wearing nothing but what she was born, but of course, that was highly unlikely, no matter how much Emma wished that were to happen.

"There's a rest-... room..." The husky voice of the brunette teacher had Emma's attention to the door where Regina had entered with a pair of grey, silk pajama bottoms. But the way she paused halfway across the sitting room with wide eyes told Emma that she hadn't been expecting a pantsless blonde on her couch.

"Hi…" Emma mewled sheepishly, the intense stare of the brunette had her shrinking against the couch and wishing to whatever higher deity that she was wearing pants.

"Your… You… Here." The brunette cleared her throat and tossed the bottoms over, in which Emma quickly slipped them on to sooth part of her embarrassment. The older woman's eyes were burning darker than before, which had alarmed Emma. Was this turning her on?

"Thanks," she mumbled, smoothing her hands over the sleek fabric, trying to forget that little fact. "They're really comfortable."

"That's why I purchase them, dear."

Emma nodded, smiling up at the brunette as she picked up the jeans strewn over the couch. She folded the jeans neatly and, once again, moved to exit the room. Even though she hadn't said anything about her departure, Emma guessed she was going to wash them. That had made the blonde feel rather guilty, considering that they were her own and the mess was also her responsibility. She figured the least she could do was help, and so she did.

Emma jumped up from her spot and picked up the forgotten mug from the floor before quickly following behind the English teacher to wherever she was headed. With the mug held close, she let her eyes wander around the scene of Regina's home, noticing all of the lavish and expensive items that decorated it. It took all of Emma's will to not stop and just _gawk at everything_ that she passed by. How nice would it be to live here?

"Emma?" The brunette suddenly paused her movements and turned to look at the teenager behind her.

"Yeah?" She queried, taking the few step distance between the two.

"What are you doing, dear?"

"Following you." When Regina turned around, Emma smiled innocently. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Of course not." A smile broke across the older woman's face and she reached out to gently take Emma's hand. "Want to take a trip to the laundry room?"

"That's what I planned." Emma replied stupidly. "I mean, that, I wanted to help. It would only be right if I were to. After all, they're my pants."

"You don't have to, honey. I can wash them." Regina shrugged and proceeded onward, dragging the blonde behind her. "Why don't you put that mug in the sink on our way, hm?"

Emma nodded as they crossed the foyer and went straight into the kitchen. She did as suggested and gently set the mug into the sink, but not after rinsing the rest of the contents out with a proud smirk. When she turned around, she was met with a quirked brow and pursed lips.

"Are you done?"

"I just don't feel right about making you clean up after me, is all…" Emma said quietly, once again following behind Regina as the two made their way out of the kitchen and down a hall. The brunette opened the closest door, which had revealed a rather small room with a washer and dryer, as well as a small basket of clothes.

"Sweetheart, my home is your home, I do hope you know that. But I do like to… I like to take care of people. Especially someone that I care greatly for." The brunette gave her a small smile before turning to toss the jeans into the washer. "Do you mind if I throw my own clothes in there as well? I know how touchy people can feel about mixed laundry."

"I'm fine with it…" Emma kept her eyes glued to the brunette as she then proceeded to neatly put each article of her own clothing into the washer. The blonde blushed when she saw several pairs of panties enter the machine that held her jeans, and holy shit, Emma felt as if she had to look away because of privacy issues.

"Are you alright, dear?" Regina smirked after setting the washer up to start and turned her body to face the blonde once again. "Are you embarrassed over something?"

"I-I don't want to… invade anything…"

"Trust me, you aren't. I wouldn't show my undergarments to just _anybody_." she purred, taking a few steps closer to the blonde. A soft, olive hand gently caressed Emma's cheek, resulting in the softest mewl. Her eyes closed as she nuzzled closer to the hand, quite enjoying the warmth and small jolts of electricity coursing underneath the touch. Emma's breath caught in her throat as one of Regina's fingers grazed ever so tentatively over her lower lip.

Oh, god, the strange things this woman does to her.

"Am I considered one of the lucky bodies?" Green eyes opened, an innocent doe look on her face.

"Yes." Regina answered, her voice huskier than it originally was. "And you're the only one that has the privilege to have their clothes mixed with them."

"I'm one lucky bitch, aren't I?" The blonde breathlessly inquired, pale fingers wrapping around the older woman's delicate wrist. "Because I certainly feel like it."

"I suppose you are, Emma. As am I." Arms soon engulfed Emma and her senses were filled with the scent of Regina's spicy perfume. The blonde couldn't help but to grin like an idiot and probably hugged the teacher back a little too tightly, or so the small squeak the came from Regina told her so.

"Sorry… 'gina…" Emma mumbled through short puffs with her face buried in Regina's neck and hair. Apples was her new favorite thing, and she had the lovely Ms. Mills to thank for that.

"Gina?" Regina's voice was muffled, for her own face was hidden away in blonde curls.

"I meant Regina." She quickly mended and she had meant that. Somewhere in there, the "Re" was lost in raven locks. She wasn't really one to give people a nickname if they didn't come across as that type of person. And she usually veered away from cute pet names. They never felt right coming from her mouth- or so she thought if she were to say them. It just didn't go with her persona and trying to call Regina 'baby' didn't seem really fitting. The woman was much older than her and she wasn't quite sure if the brunette would actually appreciate it. Like she didn't know if Regina was offended or surprised over what she thought was a nickname.

"Oh…" and that answered Emma's question. She sounded slightly disappointed, but didn't want to show it, or so Emma thought.

"Do you want me to… to call you Gina?" Emma asked tentatively. "I really wouldn't mind and it can be our thing."

"No one has ever called me that before. Well… I wouldn't let them if they had." Regina bit her lip and moved away from the blonde curls to stare into emerald eyes. "But I like it coming from you."

"That settles it then?"

"I suppose it does, dear." The brunette smiled and leaned forward to press a quick kiss to Emma's lips, which had ultimately left her breathless.

"Gina. It suits you… well…" she couldn't help but let out an elated giggle. "When you look like that, it does."

"What do you mean? What do I look like?" Her eyes were wide and incredulous.

"When you look at me with those big, brown eyes and they're just so sparkly and sweet. And the smile on your lips… looks so natural. You look, dare I say, _adorable_. And adorable is Gina. Gina is adorable." The blonde offered her most innocent smile that she could to the brunette, because she knew for a fact that Regina didn't like to be called adorable, considering that she didn't take too well the last time Emma had called her that very word.

"Gina is adorable, huh?" The brunette woman quirked her brow. "I think I would like to digress."

"Nope. My Gina is adorable and that is that." Emma nodded simply, squeezing Regina even tighter. Oh, good god, did she hope that she wouldn't break the poor woman in half. But she was just _so adorable_.

"You know, my dear Emma, I won't always be adorable."

"Yeah, because you're pretty damn sexy, too. I know for a… I-I mean…" Emma blushed quite vividly and chose to hide her floral face in apple scented hair.

"I am not responding to that." Regina's voice sounded as if she were completely thrown off and Emma wouldn't doubt that she would because. Because even the blonde herself was surprised by the sudden comment that flew from her lips. Really, she needed to do something about that. Perhaps there was a kind of surgery to partake in? Whatever the solution, she needed to get it done rather quickly before she said something else she wasn't meant to.

"I don't really expect you to. I am really, like _really_ sorry about my mouth." Emma mumbled against the older woman's neck. "I just… I really do not know how to stop."

"Don't worry, dear." The teacher whispered softly, pressing a kiss to the top of the blonde's head. "I don't either."

And that had struck something inside Emma's brain. She remembered reading that message that Regina had sent her earlier. She said that she didn't know how to stop. The blonde wasn't the only one with vocal diarrhea problems. Apparently Regina suffered the same, and currently… there was no cure. They were quite hopeless and they could only wish a single dose of something would help them out.

"Hey, Regina…" Emma pulled slightly away from the brunette, holding her at an arm's length. The look in her eyes had literally tore the blonde's heart in half. She looked just so goddamn _sorrowful_ and _self-loathing_, it was impossible not to pull her into an embrace. And so Emma had, not even bothering to finish what she was about to say, because instead, she just held her teacher and hoped to be of some comfort.

"You're a wonderful woman, Regina. Please don't feel anything but elation, because that's all that you deserve. You deserve to be happy and I will try my goddamn hardest to do that for you. Sure, there'll probably be some assholes in the way, but that doesn't mean I won't try." Emma reassured, her voice soft and her emotions genuine as she whispered into Regina's ear.

Then she moved back and stared deeply into the teacher's chocolate pools as one hand tucked her dark hair behind an ear. "I _will_ reassure you many, many more times if I have to because I want you to know that I am here and always will be here for you. No matter what. Please… do not doubt yourself. I… I know earlier that you had…. through that message that you had sent me."

Regina had remained silent during the time Emma had spoken and for several moments afterward. And the, without notice, the brunette burst into tears. That had startled Emma, and it had had even more when the older woman threw herself into the blonde's arms in a sobbing mess.

"Gina… G-Gina?" Emma frowned, pulling her tight against her chest. She was always quite awkward when dealing with emotional people. She never figured she could be enough to comfort them, but since she was the only one here for Regina, it seemed as if she had to try. Luckily, it didn't feel all too awkward. Perhaps it was because the thorny disposition between the two had come down quite a lot and she had gotten so used to holding Regina. Whatever it may be, she was able to harbor the feelings needed in comforting a hysteric person and it seemed to be working quite well. The soothing circles on Regina's back and the way Emma had stroke the brunette's soft hair had calmed her incredibly.

"It's alright, baby." she whispered. "G-Gina, it'll be alright. I'm here for you." She felt the brunette nod and heard a few sniffles that made her heart ache.

"Good, good… Come on, why don't we switch out the laundry and go watch a movie? Lighten the mood?" Emma brought a hand up to cup the brunette teacher's olive cheek.

"A-alright, that sounds good." she nodded, her voice now hoarse.

So they did just that, working as a team to switch the cleaned clothes over to the dryer with Regina pulling them out as Emma tossed them in. After they had finished with the small chore, both women headed to the sitting room and picked out one of the lighthearted romantic comedies. They cuddled up under the blankets as they watched the film, with Regina holding Emma in her arms as the blonde pretended not to be interested in such a 'lame' movie, although she was thoroughly intrigued by it.

By the end of the movie, Emma was yearning to watch another of the silly rom-coms, but Regina had pointed out that the clothes must be dry by now and it was getting late. And by getting late, that meant that Emma needed to head home before Mary Margaret had a fit of not knowing where she was. So, with that, the two quickly made their way to the launder room where Emma retrieved her pants and donned them.

Soon enough, Regina and Emma were out of the house and on their way to the blonde's apartment. The trip there was sat in companionable silence as the music on the radio sprang through the speakers. It was to Emma's pleasant surprise when she had noticed that the station was one on that of classic rock. So Regina _did_ have good taste in music besides the classical she thought the brunette listened to, or at least of what she saw in part of the older woman's musical collection.

It wasn't long, or so Emma thought, until they arrived outside the apartment. It always felt that the ride home was always too short. Or, at least the last time it felt the same. When she arrived on Sunday, though, she knew _that_ would be a much longer trip. If Mary Margaret were to let her go. She wouldn't find out until she got enough strength to get her ass out of the car.

"Until tomorrow, dear?" Regina turned to face the blonde, an elated smile on her face. "I'll pick you up around seven, if your foster mother allows you to go."

"She probably will." Emma shrugged. Mary Margaret never said no to her when she asked to go somewhere, especially overnight. The pixie-haired woman was a little too trustful for her own good, and Emma tried not to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, tonight, she would have to in order to go on that date with Regina. Maybe in the future, if Regina and Emma were still together, she would be blatantly honest about this day. After all, it was the mark of their first date out. It would be a rather important milestone that hopefully Mary Margaret would forgive her for.

"But I'll text you when I get an answer. Okay?"

"Alright," she nodded.

"Goodnight, Gina." Emma smiled shyly, looking at Regina through her lashes.

"Goodnight, Emma." The brunette's smile radiated, brightening up her entire face and, oh, did it make her look so _breathtaking_. Emma's face just lit up as well, the smile contagious, and their eyes met in a heated stare. She found herself leaning forward, an invisible force drawing her near the brunette, and it had seemed the same for Regina. That was, until Emma's phone rang to life with a speedy tune, indicating a call from her foster mother.

Regina jumped nearly ten feet in the air from the interruption and Emma the same. She cursed under her breath, pulling the device out to answer the call.

"Hello?" She asked, trying her best not to sound annoyed.

_"Emma? Where are you?"_

"I'm outside. I'll be coming in a moment. Alright?"

_"Alright. Goodbye."_

"Bye." The blonde huffed and ended the call. She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door, but before she stepped out of the car, she turned to look at what appeared to be a shell-shocked Regina.

"You alright?"

"Wh- yeah." The brunette offered her a smile. "Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, Gina." Emma leaned forward and kissed her cheek before hoisting herself out, slamming the door behind her.

_God,_ did Mary Margaret sometimes make her angry. She always had to call at the most inopportune of times. Sighing with irritation, she made haste to get upstairs and enter the already unlocked apartment to be met with Mary Margaret staring at her.

"Where have you been, Emma?"

"I had a tutoring session with Ms. Mills again. I'm sorry. I thought I had told you…" Emma ran her fingers through her hair. "I would have told you, but I thought it would be rude to use my phone."

"You really need to tell me when you tutor, Emma." Mary Margaret sighed, extending a hand to tuck a piece of hair behind Emma's ear. "Alright, hon?"

"Yes. I'm sorry… I will, okay? I'll try to when I know she's free."

"Thank you." The brunette woman smiled softly. "Have you eaten?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Well, dinner's in the oven if you're hungry." Mary Margaret said. "It should be done about now, too. So you're just in time." And with that, she started to walk towards the kitchen with Emma trailing behind. "Your father should be home soon."

"Mary Margaret?" Emma set her bag on one of the stools as she leaned against the island counter. "I have to ask you something."

"What is it, Emma?" Emma's foster mother asked as she pulled whatever tonight's meal was out of the oven.

"Tomorrow's my birthday, right?"

"Right."

"Well, I was wondering if I could go with Graham to Boston." Emma looked away from Mary Margaret's back, suddenly feeling terrible about lying to the woman's face. The words coming out of her mouth didn't even feel like her own, and oh god, did she hope that her mother would let her go.

"He, uh, he asked me. He wanted to show me around Boston as a birthday present and take me to a few places up there since I'll be moving there after graduation." It seemed so easy to lie, it was scary.

"How do you plan on getting there?"

"He bought a car and he's gonna come pick me up."

"When would that be?" The brunette school teacher walked over to the island and leaned against it as well, her eyes on the blonde.

"Around seven."

"So late?"

"I don't think he gets off work until later and it's a long trip here." Emma shrugged. "And since he'd be coming so late, I thought I can crash at his place for the night and we'd get up Sunday so he could finish showing me around."

"Wait, you'd be staying the night over at his place?" Mary Margaret looked skeptical at this face and Emma swore she was going to finally say 'no' to her. Shit.

"We're just friends, Mary Margaret. We won't do anything. I think he has a girlfriend, anyways, and there's two rooms in that apartment he has. Remember that we planned on moving together?" She certainly hoped that this would work and that her foster mother would say yes, or they were fucked out of a date.

"Emma…"

"Please, Mary Margaret." Emma did what she rarely ever did; she pleaded. "I promise I'll call you if anything goes wrong. And, if you want, I can check in periodically."

"You really want to go that bad, huh?"

Emma nodded and offered her a smile that she hoped looked too hopeful to pass up. "And we can still celebrate my birthday here since he won't be in until late."

Mary Margaret stared at the blonde teenager in front of her, as if contemplating on her answer. Emma could even see the gears inside her head working together to formulate the response.

Then, she finally said it. "Fine."

"Really?" The hopped up from her seat and threw her arms around her foster mother. "Oh, thank you! You don't know how much this means to me. You really don't!" she squealed.

Mary Margaret chuckled and hugged the blonde back. "Now, don't get into trouble, okay? I don't want to have to go up to Boston at some strange time at night to bail you out."

"I won't! I promise! You _won't_ regret this!" Emma giggled with excitement. "I have to tell him!"

Then Emma was hopping out of the kitchen with her backpack and headed upstairs to her room where she just could not stop bouncing about. She pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly searched for Regina's name to message her the answer. And, oh god, she could barely type up the message for her hands were shaking too much because Mary Margaret said yes.

_Guess what, Gina? We're going on a date in Boston!_


	13. Boston

**A/N: And it is finally up! You guys are super impatient, aren't you? Sheesh. Can't get a break. Well, here it is, and I hope it was worth the wait! You better like it. I put blood, sweat, and tears into this while writing it for you. XD Also, procrastination and concentration are not my friends. **

**Buuuuuuuut, here we are. Chapter 13. The chapter all y'all have been waiting for and where the M finally comes into place. ;) Also, it's quite the read (16,597 words), so, it's like two chapters into one. If I have screw-ups somewhere in there, eh. You can tell me if you want, but I am pooped so I'm not going through this thing right now. **

**Also, I would love to thank you all for the awesome reviews! Like always, they make my day much, much better and I can always smile like a fucking idiot in the middle of a class when I read them. THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING ME LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT. I LOVE YOU. **

**Annnnnd, I have some news that might affect the chapter updates and stuff. I'll be moving at the end of this month, so I'm not sure how much time I'll get to spend writing (while I'm home, because elsewhere I can type like the wind), so just a heads up. **

**And that just about sums it up. Also, reviews are ENCOURAGED, so I would love to hear what you think. And what the hell do you think about this goddamn gargantuan chapter?  
**

**But, please do enjoy this chapter and happy reading!**

* * *

_**She said yes?**_

_Yes! And she also okay'd the whole staying overnight there. _

_**Fantastic! But, dear, I have changed the plans up some. We shall be leaving after four, if that is okay? The restaurant we will be going to close at midnight, and it would be about that time when we would finally arrive. **_

_That sounds even better. At least we won't be eating at an ungodly hour._

_**That, and they're playing a show at the Paramount at about nine. I was hoping I could take you there, dear?**_

_I don't mind at all! I've never been to a show before._

_**Then I shall do the honors and take you to your first show, my dear Emma. And there's quite a lovely restaurant next to it, well, the one I planned on taking you to. We wouldn't have to go far nor be late. Do dress suitably, that means you must wear something formal.**_

_Holy shit, Gina. I feel like I'm getting spoiled._

_**Wait until you see the hotel suite I plan on renting, dear. **_

_Hotel… suite?! I don't want you to spend too much on me with all this fancy stuff._

_**Don't worry about it, Emma dear. I have more than enough funds to pay for this. After all, what am I going to do with my wealth? I have nothing worth spending it on besides you.**_

_You're really super sweet, Gina…_

_**Also, I've got another surprise for you.**_

_You… do?_

_**Yes.**_

_What is it?_

_**It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, now would it?**_

_No, I suppose not._

_**Oh, Emma dear, I have a question to ask you.**_

_What is it?_

_**Will you be telling Graham about this since he's your cover? After all, he will be coming down shortly, will he not? You don't want questions to arise, because I am quite sure both parties will be thoroughly confused when your mother asks Graham of his time with you in Boston.**_

_I suppose you're right… I hadn't thought of that. I'll message him when we've finished talking._

_**Why don't you do it now, dear? I ought to see to it that the hotel reservation is in tact. I shall talk to you later.**_

_Okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye-bye, Gina._

_**Goodbye, sweetheart.**_

Emma sighed and sat up from her spot on the bed. Mary Margaret had been calling her downstairs for dinner several times and, this time, with warning. She hadn't expected her conversation with Regina to be so long, but apparently they just got lost. Although, at least things are cleared up and she'd have to tell her foster mother that she'll be leaving sooner than before. At least all they had planned was a dinner out at Granny's and a small birthday cake with whatever gifts that the two had bought for her.

"Emma! Don't make me come up there!" Her foster mother's voice rang from downstairs.

"Hold on a minute! I'm trying to clear things up with Graham!" She huffed and did just that, clicking through her phone to find her friend's name. Now, what will she say to him? She couldn't divulge in her date with Regina. Graham knew who she was, although he was never one to tell others' secrets. But she still didn't trust to tell him just yet. She didn't think Regina would want that. Would she? Well, she _had_ asked Emma if she would tell Graham about the cover…

She'll just vaguely make up an excuse and if Graham decided to ask questions, she'd oblige and answer them honestly. That was, if he were to make a promise and sign that damned thing in blood because his would spill if the information shared were to be heard by someone else.

Sighing, she decided to leave as much information out as possible as she sent him the message, hoping that he wouldn't question it too much. She was rather terrified as to what he would think if he knew that this was all for a date and night with Regina Mills- an English teacher more than twice her age.

_Hey, I need you to do me a favor. Can you cover for me? I'm going to Boston and I told Mary Margaret it was to see you. It's only for tomorrow night._

Hitting send, she had hoped that that would suffice. The blonde would be quite screwed if he didn't agree to help her- although that was unlikely since he was quite the nice guy. With a sigh, Emma picked herself up off the bed, cell phone in hand, and made her way downstairs to her awaiting foster parents- who seemed rather irritated at her tardiness.

"And look at who finally joins us." She heard David rumble in front of an empty plate. "What were you doing up there?"

"I was talking to Graham about tomorrow." Emma quietly replied, inching her way over to her spot at the table where a square of lasagna sit on a plate. "And, Mary Margaret?"  
"Yes, Emma?" The pixie-haired brunette focused her attention to the blonde.

"He's going to be coming at four, if that's okay. He thought seven was a little too late since it's a four hour drive there." Emma explained, picking her phone up from where she sat it on the table to check the message after it had buzzed. Graham had texted her back.

_**What the hell are you going to Boston for?**_ _**I'll only cover you if you tell me**_.

Damn that boy. The blonde scrunched her nose at the phone, sending daggers to the screen.

"Is something wrong, dear?"

"Oh, no. It's just Graham. He's just wondering… what I'm doing." she shrugged and quickly typed a message back.

_I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone. And I mean it. Don't tell anyone, not even Belle or Ruby._

"Well, tell him that you're eating dinner so you can put your phone away." David grunted, quirking a brow. "You know how your mother doesn't like technology at the table."

"I know. I'll tell him." Emma stabbed her lasagna with her fork and ripped a corner off. It wasn't as good as Regina's, but it was still one of the best. If Mary Margaret was good at anything, it was cuisine. She was a marvelous cook and Emma always appreciated the meals that she made.

"That means now."

"I'm waiting for his reply." The blonde grit her teeth.

"Didn't you talk to him enough?"

"David, please," Mary Margaret gently touched her husband's hand. "Just let her say what needs to be said. Tomorrow's going to be a big day for her."

"Fine…" The man grumbled grudgingly before serving himself another square of lasagna.

"Thank you," Emma mumbled, checking her phone as another message alert sounded.

_**I won't. I promise…. **_

_I'm going on a date._

_**Really? You got yourself a girlfriend you don't want your parents knowing about? Tell me who it is and why I have to cover for them- then I'll cover for you. **_

That was quick.

"Oh my god." Emma rolled her eyes at his persistence. It was just like him to try and drag everything out of the blonde. She should have known that it wasn't safe to ask him something so vaguely without questioning.

"What is it, Emma?"

"It's just Graham being a nosey little ass like he always is."

"_Language_," the brunette quirked a brow.

"Sorry…" Emma mumbled, her fingers flying away at the keyboard.

_I don't want you to tell anyone… Promise? Don't say anything. And you know what I mean._

_**Fine. I promise. Now spill!**_

"Are you going to put that thing away yet?"

"_David_."

"In a minute…" Emma mumbled. "I gotta send this and then I'll tell him I'm eating. He won't be able to wait… although…"

"Honey, finish what you need to quickly so you can eat." David calmly suggested, his eyes no doubt trying to take a peek at the blonde's phone.

"Yeah. I will." With a roll of her eyes she replied with two words.

_Regina Mills._

And then her cell phone starts ringing, earning her dirty looks from both her parents.

"Now he's calling… Can… Can I take this?" Although, she was quite afraid to take the call. No doubt Graham would be screaming his head off at her.

"Yeah, just be quick about it, dear." Mary Margaret nodded, even though David was shaking his head.

"Thanks…" Emma quickly hit the answer button and was immediately greeted with a boisterous voice that had her jump in her spot with wide eyes.

"_NO FUCKING WAY, EMMA! YOU'RE DATING MS. MILLS? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" _

"Pipe the hell down, Graham. Jesus. Blow my eardrums out, why don't you? I'm at the dinner table." She gave a wry look to no one in particular. "And… _yes_, I am. I told you not to say anything."

"_But you're dating the fucking Evil Queen. How the hell did you land on that airstrip? She's, like, your teacher, isn't she?"_

"Yeah, but…" Emma rolled her eyes and stood up from the table. "Just give me a moment."

"_Why? I want details. Like, now. After all, you're using me to cover for her."_

"I'm at the _dinner table_ if you didn't first hear me." She quickly made her way back upstairs to her bedroom, abandoning her spot at the table along with both parents who were shooting her curious gazes. "Now, first off, don't call her that."

"_Right. Sorry. I'm just… wow._"

"And she liked me back, surprisingly. But that's not important. What's important is, will you cover for me?"

"_If you visit me, fuck yeah I will."_

"Tell me where you're at and I'll ask her if we can stop by tomorrow before we leave."

"_When the hell are you coming?"_

"We're leaving here at about four. So we'll be in around eight. But we're watching a show at the Paramount and eating at that restaurant by it, I think."

"_Oh, you're eating at Salvatore's? That place is fancy."_

"Yeah… Well, shut up. So, tell me where you're at and I'll make sure we'll stop by on Sunday. It'll probably be early."

"_Wait. Sunday? And you're…. Ohhh…. Are you staying overnight?"_

"Yes and let's leave it at that."

"_You and-"_

"Graham. Please."

"_Fine. And yeah, I'll cover for you._" He then proceeded to tell Emma where he was currently residing, repeating every so often as she wrote the location down.

"Thanks."

"_I'll be expecting you. Both. Of. You."_

"Yeah. Oh, and Graham?"

"_Yeah?_"

"Don't tell anyone. No one knows."

"_My lips are sealed, Em. Lips equal sealed._"

"Thanks… Uh, I gotta get going. I'm supposed to be eating and my parents are probably fucking fuming."

"_Alright. Talk to you later and see you on Sunday._"

"Yup. See you."

"_Bye._"

And so she hung up, sticking the piece of paper on top of her dresser so she wouldn't forget it tomorrow. Dear god, that went better than she had thought, albeit it could have gone better. Now Graham knows about her and Regina, but at least she could trust him enough to keep his lips sealed. And it actually took some pressure off Emma's chest to divulge such information to her male friend. Now, the next challenge was to tell Regina and hope that she wouldn't mind taking the blonde to visit her friend on Sunday.

* * *

"_Happy birthday, Emma!_" A collective cheer rang through the otherwise quiet diner of Granny's. The blonde smiles sheepishly, still not used to the attention she was receiving from the rather large crowd. She felt as if she were in a spotlight, especially when they all started to sing that stupid _Happy Birthday_ song to her, and she stood there awkwardly until they finished.

"Thank you," she squeaked and blew the eighteen candles poking out of the rather large cake. Holy shit, she hadn't expected _this_ for her birthday. Her friends, Ruby and Belle were here along with a few classmates including Killian, Ruby's grandmother, Belle's father, her own parents, and a few acquaintances and friends of the adults. This party set up for her had been the largest she had ever had- and that was mostly because she only celebrated with Mary Margaret, David, and her three best friends.

It was to her surprise when Mary Margaret, David, and herself walked into the diner around noon for their usual special lunch when, without any sort of warning, she was berated with a collective "_Surprise!_" Then all had proceeded to eat from a small buffet that Ruby and her grandmother had made- which ultimately was their gift to Emma since she absolutely loved food and free refills of cinnamon hot cocoa.

That was two hours ago and now Emma sat surrounded by gifts with awaiting eyes on her. Giving a sheepish smile, the blonde stabbed her fork into the middle of the cake and received the first box given to her by Mary Margaret. It was quite flat, like a box that clothes were usually wrapped in. The box, though, seemed heavier than any regular pair of pants or shirt that the brunette woman bought her. It was either several articles of clothing, Emma thought, or something entirely different.

"Go on, open it!" Her foster mother grinned with excited eyes.

"Okay…" And the blonde did just that, ripping the prettily wrapped paper off the box with a smile as wide as the brunette's. She threw the box's top to the side and gasped when she saw red.

"Oh my god, Mary Margaret! I love it! I- thank you!" she pulled out the object that had her squealing like an idiot, which so happened to be a red, leather (pleather) jacket. It was the same one that she had seen at the jacket shop a few months back and begged Mary Margaret for but they hadn't the money at the time. Little did she know, her mother had gone back to get it shortly thereafter.

"So I take it you like it?"

"Yes!" Emma beamed and shrugged it on, the smile only growing wider. She then turned her body to hug the brunette woman sitting next to her. "I love it!"

"I knew you would. You were positively begging me to buy it for you when you saw it." She chuckled and returned the hug. "You look beautiful in it."

Emma blushed, just as bright as her new jacket, and stuffed a forkful of frosting laden cake into her mouth.

"Yeah, but I beat that won't beat what I got her." David held up a large, rectangular box, a smug smile on his face.

"Nothing will compare, David." Mary Margaret crossed her arms, a confident look on her visage.

"Just wait and see." He smirked in response.

Emma quirked a brow and took the gift that he had handed her. It was rather heavy, much more so than the jacket. What the hell was in here and what could positively be more better than the red leather jacket? Unless…

"_Holy shit!_" she squealed when she had finally opened the packaging.

"Language, Emma…" Mary Margaret sighed, looking defeated as her eyes roamed over the black, leather boots that lay in the box.

"Holy _crap!_" Emma mended, taking one of the footwear items out. "It's… perfect! Thank you thank you thank you so much!" The blonde turned to her other side to give her foster father a tight hug. "How did you know?"

"I saw you gawking at them when we went to get you new shoes for this year." David grinned, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "I figured why not be a good father and actually get you what you want for your eighteenth birthday."  
"Thank you so much, dad." The blonde giggled. "I'm totally wearing both of these tonight! I hope it'll look nice with the dress that I'll be wearing… It's black, so, probably."

"When do you have to go back again, dear? It's almost two-thirty now." Mary Margaret had looked back to Emma after checking the time, her lips forming a slightly sad smile. "And don't you still have to pack? You sort of just passed out after watching the movie with us."

"Yeah, I do. We should probably head back when we're done. I still have to get ready, too."

The two of them nodded, Mary Margaret still looking sullen which had Emma feeling rather horrible for leaving her- even if it were for just one day. She didn't want to fret much on the subject, but she still had that thought weighing her mind down. In reality, she was leaving the pixie-haired brunette- for what she thought would be to tour the city she would be living in, which would be another reminder that she wouldn't be staying home for long- and she had lied to her foster mother, as well, in order to head to Boston.

With guilt weighing her down, and a heavy smile, she took the next gift that David had handed her and opened it. There was a CD beneath the wrapping, one that of her favorite musical artist- and one that she hoped Regina enjoyed when she had her listen to a song during their lunch. Perhaps she'd allow her to play the CD on their way to Boston later.

"You don't have that one, do you?" He asked, frowning slightly at her expressionless face. Emma looked up and beamed, shaking her head in response.

"Nope! Thank you, David! This is _perfect_." She set it aside when Mary Margaret had given her another wrapped gift which, if Emma guessed correctly, would be another compact disc. Regina and Emma were going to have some fine tunes to listen to on the way to the big city. It's all to hoping that the brunette teacher had a player in her car to listen to the media.

With the smile still stretched across her face, she opened up Mary Margaret's gift to reveal that it was, indeed, another CD. This time, it was another one of her favorite artists. Boy, did she hope Regina liked _her_.

"I hope you don't have that one, Emma. I think that it was the new album that you mentioned was out." Mary Margaret reached over to gently touch the blonde's wrist.

"No, it's perfect. Thank you, Mary Margaret!" She grinned widely and stacked her two new CDs on top of one another.

"Why do you still get CDs? Those things are like… so old." Ruby's voice muttered next to the blonde, one of her brows quirked when Emma turned to glare at her.

"I get them because I like to have physical copies of things. And if I have a car that takes CDs, and not tapes, I can play them. Or put them on my laptop, so I don't have to search up every goddamn song on the internet that I want." she explained calmly, eyes still shooting daggers at her friend.

"Alright, jeez. Sorry. I didn't realize you still lived in the stone age." The wry smile on Ruby's lips told Emma the joke was meant to be light and playful, so the blonde took it as such to not fret over it.

"Here, I got you something." The brunette waitress smirked and handed her a long, flat box. "You know, since the dance is coming up in a couple weeks and I'm sure you don't… I mean. Open it."

"You got me a dress, didn't you?" Emma quirked a brow as she tore the wrapping away, then quickly flipped the lid off to reveal black. And black was all she saw until she actually picked up the rather delicate material, which reflected some of the light in a soft sheen. "Satin?"

"Yeah, dude! I got it for me, actually, but I didn't really think _black_ was a good color on me, you know? I prefer red and white. I figured you needed a dress in your closet, you know, if you ever go out on a date or anything. It's not _really_ school appropriate, but with some jackets and leggings or socks or something, it'll work." Ruby gave her a cheeky grin before squeezing into the spot between David and the blonde.

"I'll try it on later…"

"You better take pictures." Now she wore a wolfish grin on her visage. "I wanna see how _hot_ you'll look in that."

"Yeah." Emma bit her lip and tried to suppress the smile she could feel threatening to break across her face. Regina would like this, she wouldn't doubt. Maybe she could wear this to Salvatore's instead of the pantsuit outfit she had planned out. But the problem was, she couldn't wear it out of the house. Mary Margaret and David would surely freak if they caught her in this. Hopefully Regina planned on stopping by the hotel first. She could change then.

"Are you trying not to… _smile?_" Ruby chuckled and nudged Emma which had caused the restrains on the smile to break, and the blonde just _beamed_ from her thoughts.

"Thank you, Ruby. I'm sure it'll come to some use."

"It better, I didn't pay a hundred bucks for that thing."

"What the fuck." Emma blinked. "How the hell did… did _this_ cost a hundred bucks?" she squawked, holding up the thin piece of fabric.

"It was probably more than that, I dunno. And, Em, dresses are fucking expensive, and lemme tell you. I was pissed when they wouldn't take that damn thing back." Ruby snorted and glowered at the dress in Emma's hands with disdain. "So you better enjoy it."

"I will, Ruby." Emma rolled her eyes and carefully placed the dress back into the box. "And I'll get you pictures when I get home- but don't share 'em with anybody or I'll find some way to kill you."

"I won't…"

"Except for me, you mean?" Belle butted in, squirming between Mary Margaret and Emma with a big grin and a small, rectangular package. "I want to see you in a dress."

"Oh my god, guys." The blonde's cheeks burned brightly as some of the other guests looked towards them. "Fine. I will. Just… shut up about it."

"Yay! Now open up my present!" Belle grinned, shoving the neatly wrapped package into the blonde's arms. "I bet you'll love it."

"Depends on what it is…" Emma mumbled, mercilessly ripping the paper off and throwing it at both her friends. Then she looked down at the object left behind, which was a book. A very familiar book. It was that same one that brought her to her very first library so many years ago, and the one that she made sure to look for and reread every single time she went there. _Holy shit_. How did Belle even find this? Emma couldn't find a copy of those goddamn book _anywhere_ and she didn't bother with online sites. Most copies of the book were very nearly trashed. But this one… it was so _pristine_.

"Do you like it? I remember when you told me this is the first large book that you've read and it meant great importance to you. I searched online for a good copy and finally stumbled on a site that had super old copies of books in perfect condition. Let me tell you, they cost about an arm and a leg, but it was totally worth it." Belle beamed at a misty-eyed Emma.

The blonde quickly wrapped her arms tightly around the small brunette and chuckled with elation. "Oh, god, Belle. Thank you so much! Holy shit, I've been looking for this for a while now. I couldn't find a good copy…"

"It's no sweat. It's your eighteenth, Em. It's a milestone in your life and you deserve the best of gifts."

"I love you, both of you." Emma couldn't help but to laugh again, this time pulling both of them into her arms. "You're so amazing, even if one of you gave me a dress."

"You know you secretly like it, Emma." Ruby smirked.

"No comment." The blonde chuckled, setting the book next to her other birthday gifts. "But I do appreciate it, especially since it was apparently so goddamn expensive."

"Yeah, you better appreciate it, bitch." The waitress giggled and playfully nudged her friend. "But, hey, no problem. I'm sure you'll get me something equally as awesome… huh?"

"You'll just have to wait and see. I've got plans for both of your upcoming birthdays."

"I want something _expensive._"

"I'm just happy with books." Belle commented, shooting her brunette friend a quick eyebrow raise.

"I'll be sure to save up for your expensive tastes." she grinned wryly.

"Unless you blow whatever in _Boston_." Ruby sneered and crossed her arms.

"What?"  
'Why didn't you tell us you were going down there today?"

"Because it's none of your business?"

"Didn't her mother say that Graham was coming to pick her up?" Belle's soft voice chirped.

"I thought he was coming down in two weeks to spend time with us?"

"He is. I just-"

"Hey, Emma! I got you something, too." A masculine voice sounded behind the three friends and Emma slumped in her spot. Oh, _great_, here comes Killian. Perhaps he won't take it upon himself to be annoying as usual. At least she was saved for now from having to talk about why she was leaving later.

"You did?" She blinked and stared at the hand that had extended towards her. Her green eyes slid up to meet a grinning face.

"Yup."

"What is it?"

"Open it and find out." Killian waved the envelope in his hand towards her and she snatched it from between his fingers.

"Okay…" she muttered, using her thumb to tear open the envelope and pluck the card out that was inside. On the front was a lone swan (of course) on a crystal lake, and when she opened it, there was a handwritten message.

"_Happy Eighteenth Birthday, Emma. I've got you two gifts. One, look up and two, listen._"

Emma quirked a puzzled brow at the words, but obliged, and did what it had said as she looked up to see Killian extend a single red rose to her.  
"Uh… thanks." she muttered, taking the flower. "What… do I have to-"

"Will you go to the dance with me?" He asked oh so innocently, and Emma could hear the suppressed snorts of laughter from her friends.

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"I… wanted to take you to the dance in a couple weeks and I thought I could pay your fee to get in."

"Bribe much?"

"Emma," Belle warned. "Don't be so rude."

"Yeah, Em. He's asking you to the dance, and as far as I know, he's the only one that has asked you. You don't have a date."

"Yeah, because I had no plan to go." Emma looked over to the boy still standing in front of her. "No offense, but I just _hate_ dances. They're loud and stuffy and there are so many people."

"Oh, come on, Em." Ruby whined. "Belle and I are going."

"We are?-"

"We don't want to be there alone and I doubt Killian does, either. It's just one dance and it won't kill you." The brunette waitress crossed her eyes and gave Emma that _look_.

"Oh, come on…" the blonde began to protest, but she was cut short by a finger in her face.

"You're going to that dance, Emma Swan, unless you have other plans that I don't know about, but that's like… impossible, because you're Emma." She smirked. "Plus, I don't see a line of suitors waiting to ask you to the dance."

"And you can make good use of the dress Ruby got you…" Belle tried her best to persuade.

"You're never going to let me pass, are you?"

"Nope. Now grow a pair and say yes."

"Fu-... Fine. Only this once." Emma turned to an expectant Killian who had no doubt been eavesdropping in on their conversation. "I'll go with you to the dance… Under one condition. No… kissing or anything like that. As a matter of fact, no _touching_."

"Oh, come on… The whole point of a dance is to touch each other."

"That sounds wrong." Rubby snorted.

"Shut up, Rubes." Emma snapped and crossed her arms. "Fine. But only touch when dancing and no place inappropriate or else I'll be gone faster than you can say sorry."

"Okay…"

"Got it?"

"Got it." He mumbled solemnly.

"Good, now, thank you for the rose." Emma smiled politely. "And the card. It was nice. I like the swan."

"You're welcome." Killian's mood seemed to change in the blink of an eye with a dazzling smile. "I've got some cake calling my name, so… I'm out. We can work out details for the dance later." And with that, he was gone.

"Well, you got yourself a date to the dance, Emma." Ruby giggled as she enjoyed the blonde's torture. "Although, it's with a _guy_." she whispered the last part as to not let Emma's parents overhear.

"Yeah, well, I don't see any willing chicks in this school…" Emma snorted and twirled the rose around.

"Emma, honey, are you just about ready to leave? It's almost three." Mary Margaret's voice interrupted whatever witty comment that Ruby was about to say. "I know you wanted to be home to pack and change."

"Yeah, right. And I gotta get all this stuff into their new homes." The blonde nodded and stood, stretching in her place before turning to look down at her friends' sitting forms. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"And you better be telling me what Boston is like. I haven't been out of this stupid town yet." Ruby grumbled. "It's so unfair that he's only taking you up there."

"Excuse me, but who's birthday is it?" Emma smirked. "And, anyways, I'm moving up there with him when school ends. All he's doing is touring me around the city."

"I hope you have fun." Belle meekly responded. "Don't let sourpuss get you down."

"I won't." Emma narrowed her eyes at the brunette waitress. "I _was_ going to buy you some stuff, but if you're going to act like that…"

"Fine. Fine. I'll shut up."

"Good." Emma giggled and bent down to hug them both before gathering her things to leave. "Thanks for the stuff, guys. And thank your grandmother for me, Ruby, for letting us use the diner."

"No problem, and I will."

"You're welcome, Em."

They both smiled up at her and waved when the Nolans and herself left. She waved right back, all the guilt that she had earlier weighing her down once again. It was so horrible to lie to the people that you love because _you_ know the truth and they do not. They're forced to believe in some fairytale bullshit that is made up instead of the reality behind it all. But Emma couldn't tell her friends the truth as to why she was going to Boston, like how she couldn't tell her parents. She didn't want Graham to know, either, but since she was using him, she was sort of forced to- or at least pestered to. But, there was a part of her that didn't feel so guilty because they would all learn the truth later in the future- when it was safe enough to publicise her and Regina's relationship.

That was something to be worried about later, right now, Emma needed to focus on packing for her trip. She knew that she should have done it last night, but god, did she want today to come faster than it should have. The blonde was absolutely thrilled and also quite nervous to be going on a date with Regina. _A real date_ at a restaurant with people around them and food and waiters and that show they were supposed to go to beforehand. Oh, it was so agonizing waiting for four o'clock to come, and now that it was less than an hour away, Emma was a bundled mess of frazzled nerves.

She dumped her messenger bag for school out onto her mattress to start filling the thing up with a change of clothes, pajamas, a fresh pair of undergarments, a few toiletries, and her CDs as well as an extra pair of flats in case the boots were a little too much. Checking around the room for anything that she might have missed, Emma shucked her shoes and pants off as well as her shirt in order to try on that damn dress. She still had enough time to snap a few photos and such for her friends and possibly see if it were to be suitable enough for the restaurant.

She hadn't noticed that the top bit of the dress was a halter top, with its one strap around her neck and the plunging neckline, but upon trying it on, she felt mortified. Emma had ever worn something so _revealing_ before. The ruffled skirt of the dress was quite short to her, cutting off at mid-thigh. The entirety of her upper back was exposed, which made the blonde feel quite uncomfortable. It was no wonder why she didn't find such attire appealing, and when she saw it on other girls- more specifically Ruby- she always wondered how they could do it. Don't they feel… exposed?

Whatever it may be, she wasn't sure if she would be comfortable enough to wear this out in public. Of course, she could always bring it with her and hope that Regina would think it to be suitable after trying it on- if they were to stop at the hotel first. Or else, she'd just wear her pantsuit, which she quickly grabbed out of the closet to dress into after peeling the dress off.

With a sigh, Emma quickly shoved the dress into her bag and zipped it up. Did she have everything?

Clothes? _Check_. Undies? _Check_. Back-up shoes? _Check_. Sleepwear? _Check_. Dress? _Check_. Hairbrush? _Check_. Toothbrush? _Check_. CDs? _Check_. Graham's address?

She rummaged through the smaller compartment of her bag and came across the piece of paper that she had stuck in there earlier.

_Check_.

"I think that's everything…" she mumbled to herself as she found her new red leather jacket and donned it. "And still half an hour to spare. Great."

Emma sighed and plopped heavily onto her bed, grabbing her cellphone from the end table. Maybe she should see what Regina's up to? Perhaps she was ready to leave and might want to head out on the road early? With a shrug, she figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

_Hey, Gina, are you about ready? I'm all done packing and stuff, so, I guess if you want to come early, you can. _

"Emma, your father and I have something for you." Mary Margaret's voice startled the blonde, causing her to jump with a surprised "holy shit."

"When the hell did you get in here?"

"Not too long ago?" The brunette chuckled, completely ignoring Emma's use of profanity. "Now, dear, since you're going to Boston and I'm quite sure you'll need food and drinks and gas and… and if you see anything you like and you want to buy it, you ca-"

"What your mother is trying to say is that we're going to give you money for your trip in case you need it. You don't have to worry about giving us back the change. Keep it as your birthday gift." David interrupted, stepping forward to hand Emma an envelope. It looked rather thick.

_God, how much was in there_?

"Thank you, but it seems like a lot… I really don't want to take it from you."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo. They're mostly one dollar bills."

"Oh, thanks…" Emma quirked a brow. "But, really, you didn't have to-"

"It's a birthday gift from us to you, dear. Just take it and make you father happy."

"Then I'm going to use it to get you guys something, because I really can't…" Emma sighed and received the envelope of money from David before stuffing it into the side of her bag.

"Don't sweat it, Em. We love you and this is for _you_. Not us. Spend it on yourself."

"You know I can't-"

"Emma," Mary Margaret used her stern voice, which meant she was serious and there was to be no further argument.

"Alright… Thank you, guys. I really appreciate it." Emma smiled, standing up from her bed to throw her arms around the two. "I love you and I appreciate everything you guys do for me, even though I may not show it all the time."

"We know, honey."

"We love you, too."

They both had watery smiles as they hugged their foster daughter back with tight embraces.

"Now, you go have fun, okay? Don't get into any trouble." David tucked a strand of hair behind Emma's ear.

"Yes, and if you are in trouble, don't hesitate to call." Mary Margaret reminded. "And call even if you're not. We wouldn't mind hearing from you…"

"Guys, I'll only be gone for one day." Emma chuckled. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'll call you when we get there so you make sure we arrived safely."

"Good, yes, do that." Both nodded at the pixie-haired woman's voice.

"I will," the blonde smiled and pulled her phone from the pocket of her leather jacket it when it had buzzed. It was a message from Regina.

_**I'm outside, dear. So whenever you're ready.**_

"Oh, he's here." Emma stuffed the device back into her pocket and slung her backpack over her shoulder, looking at her two sullen foster parents. "I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright, Emma. I love you and have a safe trip." Mary Margaret was the first to pull her into a tight embrace before exiting the room with what appeared to be tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, hon. And have fun, but not too much fun." David quirked a brow in her direction and it hit Emma like a brick when she realized what he was referring to with that twinkle in his eye.

"Ew, dad, no. I won't be doing _that_ with him, or any dude we might find." Emma wrinkled her nose and returned the hug when he had chuckled and embraced her as well.

"Good. Now, go, I don't think you want to keep him waiting."

"Nope! I'll see you Sunday. Love you goodbye." She grinned and hopped down the stairs from her bedroom with David behind her.

Soon, she felt the bitter air of freedom hit her face as she stepped out of the apartment building, a large smile on her pale, pink lips. The first thing wrong, she noticed, was that Regina's lack of appearance. She, nor her black Mercedes, were nowhere to be found.

"Goddammit," she muttered, starting to head down the sidewalk. Regina must have parked away from eyesight so her parents wouldn't see her. It was a rather smart choice, Emma thought, but a really cold one as well. It was still chilly as fuck outside, but at least her boots and new jacket kept her rather warm, although the wind was still a bother.

It wasn't long before she reached the awaiting Benz and its owner just a block down with its beautifully running engine that assured Emma it would be warm inside. She jogged the last few steps to the passenger's door and quickly got in with a shiver.

"It's cold out there," she commented, shoving her messenger bag between her feet on the floor. "I hate winter. And cold. So. Fucking. Much."

"Language, dear." Regina's husky voice sounded from beside her and it was like a choir of angels in Emma's ears. She had went all goddamn day without hearing that angelic voice and, boy, it was so nice to hear it now. Although, the twisting and constant swirl of metaphorical butterflies in her stomach had returned.

"God, I've missed you." Emma found herself saying, a sheepish smile on her face when she turned her attention to the brunette next to her. And, holy fuck, her breath was lost. That woman was _literally_ breathtaking with that stunning smirk on her crimson lips and those smokey eyes sparkling with mischief.

"It has only been one day?"

"Which is too long." Emma giggled a little too giddily.

"I certainly do hope you won't get tired of me after spending so much time in my presence, dear." There was a light tint to her cheeks, which would have been mistaken for blush if Emma hadn't been staring at the teacher's face for the past five minutes. She was _blushing_.

"I won't, I can promise you that. I'll _never_ get tired of you." She replied honestly, leaning forward to place a tender kiss on the older woman's cheek. "But we should get going so we aren't later, and, uh… Do you think we'd have enough time to stop at the hotel first?"

"Why is that, dear?" Regina's voice had taken a much lighter tone as she pulled away from the curb and headed for the street out of town.

"Well, you see… Ruby got me this dress and I wasn't sure if I should wear it or not. And, anyways, I couldn't wear it out of the house without my foster parents having a fit." Emma shrugged and quickly put her seat belt on, earning a satisfied smile from the brunette next to her.

"I see. I suppose we would have enough time for you to do that. I have to check into the hotel firstly, anyhow, before our reservation expires." Regina chuckled at Emma's expression, which probably reflected how much she wanted to hit herself. Goddammit. She didn't think about that. Somehow, she thought they automatically already had the hotel room. What the hell was she thinking?

"We might be late for the show, but that shouldn't matter too much, I hope."

"Not really, I guess." Emma shrugged. "But I hope that wouldn't cost too much or anything, and for being late, I mean… would that be worth it? Graham said it cost a shitload of money to get in."

"Everything will be fine, Emma. We should only be, at max, ten minutes late. Since we are leaving early, we should have enough time to get whatever is needed to be done at the hotel." The brunette shrugged nonchalantly.

"If you're sure. I mean, I got money and stuff."

"Don't worry about it, dear. It's your birthday. Let me spoil you."

Emma's only response was a sheepish nod and a blooming blush on her cheeks. Holy shit, Regina was one that loved to spoil others, wasn't she? The blonde was in for one hell of a ride with her, for she rarely liked receiving things- especially in mass quantities- without being quite modest about it. It would be just like how she had with David and that wad of cash he gave her.

"So you say you talked to Graham?" Regina asked suddenly after a few moments of silence.

"Yeah. I asked him if it was alright that I used him as a cover." Emma shrugged, biting her lip. She should probably tell Regina that she had told him about them. She might have already expected it, but, still.

"Does he know about us?" And there it was, along with a hint of worry in her tone.

_Shit_.

"Y-yeah…" Emma mumbled, running her fingers through her hair. "But I made him promise not to tell anyone, and Graham's a good guy. He wouldn't do that, unlike Ruby, so that's why he's the _only_ one that knows now. But…"

"There's a but?" Now her tone was incredulous and her chocolate orbs wide with fear. "What is it?"

"He wants us to visit him before we leave tomorrow." Emma suppressed a giggle from Regina's sudden relaxing form, because she knew that she, too, would be terrified out of her wits if there were a 'but' as well in something as serious as this.

"He does?"

"Yeah. He gave me his address and a specific 'Both. Of. You.' to me. So, yeah, both of us have to go visit him." Emma chuckled this time, lighthearted and quite joyful. "I hadn't seen him in a while and he's, like, happy that we're together, I guess. He freaked the fuck out of me when I told him. He called and screamed in my ear. At first, I thought he was going to give me the cold shoulder, but, nope…"

"Nope?" Regina's brows crinkled together. "What do you mean by that?"

"He was pretty cool about it after getting over the fact that you're my teacher. We talked for a bit, and I didn't divulge much, but he knows that you make me super happy and so he's pretty happy about that." The blonde played with a lock of her hair.

"I make you super happy, hm?" The brunette gave her a warm, tender smile.

"Yes you do, ma'am. I hadn't felt like this since… Well, _ever_, actually and I feel that you need to know that."

"Interesting..." Regina whispered mostly to herself because she just could _not_ believe that she could make someone _happy_. For most of her life, she just made people's life a living hell, or so her mother had told her, so she stayed away from everyone, before forced to believe that she was nothing but a nuisance. It was nothing but a pleasant surprise to her when Emma hadn't pushed her away like most others in her life. It was a strange concept for Regina to grasp, but she was sure as hell trying because letting go didn't seem like it would leave a pleasant feeling in her gut.

They sat in silence for the better part of thirty minutes with Regina's eyes straight ahead on the road and Emma's on the scenery surrounding them, a sated smile on her lips. It was quiet, serene even, with nothing but the road and no traffic to share it with. The world outside was painted white with crystal flakes and decorated with thick woods of green and brown. It seemed so calm, and not at all the harsh cold that it really was. Perhaps it was because she wasn't out there, but in the car instead?

The warmth of the car feigned the temperature outside, but Emma was quite glad that she wasn't out there. She was thankful to be in the Mercedes where the scenery was much more enjoyable without the bitter wind. She could _actually_ enjoy winter for once without the fear of freezing something off, even if that weren't exactly logical. Everything looked absolutely _breathtaking_ and if it weren't for the sun reflecting off the blanket of snow, she would stare at it forevermore. The little ice crystals really could catch the sun's rays and make beauty turn into eye watering pain.

Emma let her eyes drift away from the painted scene and take a moment to look over the other beauty that shouldn't cause her any current physical pain. The blonde pressed her lips tightly together as wide, emerald eyes took the time to appreciate God's masterpiece that lay before them. Regina Mills was nothing but pure perfection and even the most gorgeous, spring day could not hold a candle to her.

"Take a picture, dear, it'll last longer." The brunette's voice shook Emma from her thoughts.

"Sorry," she relocated her eyes, catching bits of Regina's pea coat and what appeared to be a strange print in greyscale.

_What was she wearing?_

Regina chuckled, a soft melody floating through the otherwise silent vehicle. Emma smiled. _My perfect Gina_, were the words to echo through the blonde's head and she let them reverberate until the brunette's laughter had tapered off. Then all was quiet again except for the rhythmic hum of the engine.

"We're missing something," the older woman tilted her head in Emma's direction, the corners of her mouth quirked. "It's quite silent, isn't it? Why don't you see what is on the radio?"

"I brought music." Emma blurted, her eyes now staring at the complicated looking stereo. It didn't seem to have a CD player, but it _did_ have a built-in tape player.

"Unless you brought tapes with you, dear, I do not think it is possible to listen to anything else besides the radio."

"I have one of those converter things." The blonde bent down to rummage through the messenger bag on the floor between her feet. It had taken her a few moments to remember where she exactly stuck it, but she eventually found the tape she had been looking for and held it up. "See?"

Regina arched an eyebrow at the object, then gestured towards the front console. "Whatever that thing does, have at it."

"They have that little end to 'em just like headphones, that's how they work. So you can pretty much stick it into any media device." The blonde shrugged, sticking the tape end of the converter before pulling her phone out and hooking the other end up to it. "And it works with phones, too."

"I might have to get one of those. It would make some use of the tape player." Regina drew her gaze to the road once again as they finally neared the highway.

"They sell them at most stores, so I'm pretty sure you can find one." Emma shrugged and tapped her foot to the beat of the music.

"I'll be sure to check into that." The brunette nodded. "I have good news, Emma, as well."

"What is it?"

"We only have a little over three and a half hours left on our trip."

"Sounds like we're making good time." The blonde couldn't help but to chuckle at the feigned excitement in the brunette teacher's voice. Regina joined in and both shared a good laugh before finally quieting down to listen to the upbeat tune floating through the car speakers.

The two of them alternated between listening to the music in companionable silence and having idle conversation for the rest of the trip. It wasn't until Regina had mentioned that the final city they were passing through was Boston itself, which had Emma's interest almost immediately. The lights of the city were quite intriguing as they contrasted against the darkness of the night. The blonde was awe-struck, barely paying any attention to what Regina had been saying to her, but she had been able to catch the tail end of it.

"... hotel just up this street."

"What does it look like?" Emma finally had turned her attention to the brunette, but had kept an eye on the passing buildings for the hotel they were to be staying at.

"It is… that one." The Mercedes had come to a halt in front of a rather tall building that had the blonde just _gawking_.

"Wh… that's our hotel?"

"Yes it is, dear. And our room is all the way on the top floor, I think."

"How far is the Paramount?"

"Not too far. I planned accordingly." The brunette smiled and unlocked the doors to the vehicle. "Now, let us check in and get our things situated so we can make it to the show on time. We've made better time that I thought. It's only 8:15."

"Really?" It had seemed rather unbelievable that they had made great time on the trip since the traffic was quite unreal. It had seemed like _hours_ more than it should have that they spent on the highway what with the traffic jams, and coming into the city was utter hell.

"Yes, dear. Now, let's go."

The two quickly left the car- after Regina grabbed her overnight bag- and headed into the hotel. Regina didn't even blink, but Emma just could not close her jaw. The inside of the Nine Zero hotel was absolutely elegant. To both the left and right of her lay two sitting areas, both just as fancily decorated as the other with lavish blacks and whites on walls and modern furniture. It was quite appealing to the eye, especially at a glance which had been all Emma got for Regina went a little too fast that the blonde was unable to admire and gawk. It didn't matter much at the moment, they were in a rush after all, and the little reception area was just as extravagantly decorated. Hell, even the desk was screaming with its fancy lights that reflected off the white and black marble floors.

"I really feel like I don't belong in here." Emma whispered to the brunette as she sidled up to her, emerald eyes zoning in on each person- each clad in expensive formal attire- before finally landing on the receptionist, who was also quite professionally dressed.

"Don't worry, dear." Regina flashed a toothy smile as they reached the desk. "Surely they will not mind. Besides," her voice rose as she spoke. "You hadn't enough time to change into your dress, that's why we're here."

"Hello, welcome to Nine Zero! May I assist you?" The woman behind the desk asked politely.

"Yes, I have booked a room? The Studio 501 Suite." Regina replied smoothly.

"Name?"

"Regina Mills."

"Alright! Your room is waiting." The receptionist beamed after typing a few keys on her keyboard. She soon shuffled through something that Emma couldn't see before handing Regina two card keys. "Here are your keys. Please do come down if you encounter any trouble or concern."

"Thank you," the brunette retrieved the key cards, handing one of them to Emma. "Are you ready to see our room, dear?"

"I'm scared to, actually. I mean, if the _lobby_ is this fancy, I can only imagine what a _suite_ would look like." Emma nibbled on her lower lip as she followed the brunette to the elevator. "I didn't think this place would be so…"

"It is one of the finer hotels in Boston. I was not going to force you to stay in a rat hole of a motel for a fourth of the price."

"I don't want to know how much this costs you…"

"Do not worry about that, dear. That is disclosed information for only I to know and for you to never find out." A devious smirk crossed over her features. "This is our floor."

"Oh, snap. Okay. Let's do this."

Moments later, Emma was gaping like a fish out of water with jaw dropped and eyes wide. The room didn't seem so much as a hotel room should, instead, it looked as if it were a small, lavish apartment. The room was just as modernized as the downstairs lobby with its posh furniture and decorative pieces. There was an entire _sitting area_ with a black leather loveseat and a light cafe colored chair that matched the walls.

"Whoa, Regina… You outdid yourself with this."

"Oh, wait until you see the bathroom, dear. If it is anything like most other, as you say, fancy hotel suites, then you're in for a treat." The brunette kept her chocolate gaze on the blonde, a light smile lilting her lips.

"I have to pee anyways…" Emma hopped over to the one door and rushed inside to be met with the most elegant shitter she'd ever seen. People have some high priorities if they want to use something like _this_ to just go to the bathroom in.

"Sweet mother of… Did you see this, Gina? It's fucking fancy! Not only do _we_ get to enjoy the lavish restroom, but our shit does too!"

"_Emma_. Do you _have_ to use such crass language?" The brunette came up behind the blonde who was still standing in the doorway, gawking at the modern, greyscale bathroom.

"Yes. Yes I do." Emma grinned and stepped into the room, dropping her bag on the counter. Then, she caught sight of Regina's reflection in the mirror and she just about gasped. That goddamn woman could not get any more alluring than she was in that moment. Her eyes were shadowed with dark makeup and the shiny, pink lipgloss really drew attention to her face, which ultimately had Emma staring at both her eyes- which were so perfectly brown and sparkly- and her mouth- which were so goddamn kissable. Her bangs were more or less combed off to one side in a rather stylish hairdo covering part of the right side of her face as the remaining had been tucked behind her left ear. As Emma's eyes skimmed down the brunette's body, she had finally figured out what that pattern was. It was leopard print, and it looked damn good on the older woman also, especially with her smokey eye maquillage. The material was also satin- just like the dress Ruby had given her- and ended just below her knee. The neckline wasn't too low and showed nothing but the smooth expanse of her olive skin. It was quite flattering, hugging every delicious curve.

"Are you alright, Emma?" Regina frowned slightly and took a step into the bathroom, one of her hands finding the blonde's shoulder.

"Y-yeah, I am. You just… You look so beautiful." That had the brunette blushing in no time.

"Thank you…"

"It's… Really, no problem at all. You're so fucking perfect, you know that?" Emma chuckled lightheartedly and turned around, taking the hand on her shoulder into her own. "I'm kinda jealous of you, but I'm also thankful that I have you."

"That's really sweet of you, Emma." Regina leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Emma's lips. "And it means so very much to me."

"Good, because I want you to know. And I know I say compliments and stuff so often, but I have a good reason. Trust me." The blonde replied breathlessly.

"I do trust you, Emma." The English teacher tilted her head. "And I do trust that you will get ready so we can make it in time to the show?"

"That went a different direction." Emma chuckled, but nodded. "I shall get changed and throw on a bit more makeup."

Regina lifted a hand to touch Emma's cheek, a warm smile on her lips. "You don't need to do that, dear. You look beautiful just as you are. There is no use hiding that beauty with cosmetics."

"Neither do you," she mumbled softly, trying her best to keep the blush forming on her cheeks sated.

"Emma," she sighed and gently patted the eighteen-year-old's cheek. "Why don't you get ready? Alright?"

"I won't let this get away."

Regina dropped her arms to her sides, her lips no longer in a smile. "If you're quick enough, I will give you your birthday gift afterwards."

"Wait, what?" Emma blinked, slightly taken aback from the sudden bribery.

"Yes. So, you get ready while I get that for you." And then she was backing out of the room without a chance for Emma to protest. The door was shut.

Emma frowned, but quickly stripped so she could don the dress. She was determined to make sure that Regina felt beautiful no matter the situation. Hopefully she wasn't _that_ self conscious about herself, seeing as to how she reacted towards Emma's statement. The blonde would just have to catch the brunette without her painted face sometime and make sure that Regina knew there was no problem nor flaw whatsoever with her visage. She was a beautiful human being with looks to die for.

The blonde only wished she were able to look that goddamn stunning. Most days she was sure she resembled a truck and felt rather self conscious if someone were to look at her. Of course, Emma rarely wore makeup to cover herself up, and she was quite sure Regina knew that, but she realized that it _did_ make her look much better- although, half the time, she couldn't bother to do anything about it. Now, though, she was determined to look her best for Regina when they were to go out. Perhaps the two of them could dazzle the room with their beauty, or at least the brunette would.

"Are you almost ready, dear?" she heard that very brunette's voice call out from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm done, actually." Emma gave her reflection one last glance before turning around to open the bathroom door, and when she did, she swore Regina's jaw would detach itself. "Uh…"

"You look stunning, Emma." She whispered, her voice had become huskier than before and her eyes much darker. "Beautiful… Breathtaking… _You_ are perfect."

"Aw, come on… Not really…" Emma turned a light shade of pink, her green eyes focusing on the ground. She felt so _exposed_ and even more so underneath the intense gaze of the brunette. She dared to look up again, willing her skin to not heat up upon meeting Regina's seemingly hungry eyes. "Did… didn't you say you were going to give me something?" she coughed.

"Oh, yes… Right." Regina fumbled with a small, rectangular wrapped package before handing it over to the blonde. "I do hope you like it."

"I probably will." Emma shot her a reassuring smile and delicately opened the wrapping paper to reveal a sleek, black case. It looked like one of those jewelry cases that necklaces usually came in. _Oh snap_.

The blonde sucked in an anxious breath as shaky fingers pried open the box to reveal a rather simple necklace, but it was rather priceless to Emma. It was a circular, silver pendant with a single swan in the middle of it and the piece was attached to a simple, silver chain.

"Oh… it's so… I love it!" Emma's mouth upturned into a rather large grin and her arms flung around the brunette. "I really love it, Gina. Thank you so much!"

"I'm so glad that you do, darling." Regina whispered, kissing Emma's forehead before returning the hug. "Why don't you turn around and let me put it on for you?"

"Of course!" The blonde nodded and handed the swan pendant to Regina, then turned around for her to put the necklace on.

"You know, I was doing some reading," the older woman spoke as she brought the chain around the younger woman's neck. "About swans, that is. I read that they mate for life. Quite interesting, isn't it?"

Emma's breath hitched when Regina said those words. Was she trying to imply something or was she just innocently informing Emma of the swan biology? She would just have to play this one out and keep it cool. Nothing would be happening right now anyways, right? They were to go to the Paramount soon.

"Yeah, that is pretty interesting. I guess they're kinda like humans… Well… Maybe not. I mean, how we do marriage would be mating for life, right?" Emma stumbled over the words that seemed to be leaving her mouth.

"Something like that, dear." Regina gave her an amused smile. "It's all about finding the right one, and when you do… You just know."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. There's like this little radar that goes off." Emma raised her brows and turned around to meet Regina's gaze, holding it for several long moments. Oh, god, could she just get lost in those muddy pools for hours…

"Did you know that one-fourth of black swans are homosexual?" Regina suddenly inquired, breaking eye contact.

"No shit?"

"They're male, though. But I am pretty sure that there would be females as well. After all, homosexuality doesn't affect just one gender, right?" The brunette fluffed a blonde lock on Emma's head before quickly turning to grab her coat.

"Right…" Emma swallowed thickly and retrieved her new red leather jacket, which had earned an eyebrow raise from the brunette teacher. "What?"

"Where on earth did you get that godawful thing?"

"Mary Margaret. Why?"

"That explains it…" Regina's brows flew up to her hairline as she picked up her small handbag.

"What?" Emma frowned, following the brunette as she headed for the door. "She bought it for my birthday."

"I couldn't fathom why someone would spend money on such cheap material."

"But… I like it…" Emma's voice was small and when Regina turned around, the blonde's faced resembled that of a kicked puppy.

"You like it?"

"Yeah. That's why she got it."

"My apologies," she cleared her throat and headed hastily towards the elevator with Emma hot on her trail. "Come along, dear, with your hideous jacket and pretty face. If we rush, we'll make it there early."

* * *

After the show, both women headed out of the building caught within a rather large crowd that had decided to exit at the same time. The two of them tried to leave a little early before the rest of the group had, but had been unfortunate when there were many others with the same idea. They were unable to get back inside due to the excessive amount of people stringing behind them as well as every other side.

Emma had, at one point, taken Regina's hand in her own, lacing their fingers together to keep from losing one another in the crowd. When the blonde had looked up to see the older woman's reaction, she melted. The brunette had a warm, radiant smile on her glossy pink lips, although she had kept her eyes forward as to not run into anyone.

It felt like ages before they were able to completely exit the building, and even longer before they were finally inside the restaurant- still hand in hand. Being behind a few people, Emma was able to take a look around the restaurant. It was just as nice and exquisite as every other place that Regina had taken her to. The brunette teacher must have quite an expensive taste because she knew all of the right places to go and she had, yet, to take Emma somewhere that the blonde wasn't so impressed with.

The lighting was dimmed and- with the dark, chic furnishings- made it feel as if they were still outside with the artificially lit streets. The setting was rather romantic and the soft melodies playing through hidden speakers didn't counter it, even with the buzzing chatter of the guests.

"It's really nice," the blonde whispered to her date.

"I know, dear. That's why I'm taking you here." Regina flashed her a pearly smile, but the look hadn't lasted long as they were next in line. The brunette applied her fake smile and genial voice. "We have a reservation for two under the name Mills."

"Mills for two," the host repeated, his eyes scanning through the reservation list in front of him. He made a positive sound upon finding the name and looked up with a friendly smile. "Meghan will show you to your table, and she will be taking your order."

A young, blonde server smiled at the two before speaking. "Right this way, please."

Regina nodded and followed behind the server, which had ultimately forced her blonde companion to follow with a surprised grunt. They were shown a small table that seated two, which had been quite close to another couple's table, and uncomfortably so. Emma had finally released the brunette's hand to take a spot facing opposite the second table as Regina seated herself away from them. Each were given a menu and a choice for beverage- which both had taken just a water- before the girl was off.

"It's kinda tight in here." Emma mumbled across the table to her date. "I can literally feel those guys next to us breathing."

"You are right, dear, but that is the downfall of restaurants next to opera houses." Regina lifted her gaze, her whisky eyes twinkling in the dim lighting. "I do hope you will be able to survive with our lovely dinnermates."

"Yeah…" Emma could only shrug, trying her best to ignore the way one of them kept staring at her all the while talking to his wife- or so she assumed the woman was, seeing as to how they appeared to be around Regina's age. It was no doubt he was probably chattering about her age, since she did appear to be the only one at least under the age of twenty. Of course, that made sense because most were couples on a date like she and Regina, or in larger groups- most of which were passed middle-age.

"Is something wrong?" The brunette frowned and reached across the table to place a hand lightly on the blonde's wrist.

"I feel so out of place," she whispered, looking to the olive toned hand. "Everyone is so much older than I and… I feel like I don't have a right to be here."

"Oh, sweetheart," Regina brought her other hand over to cup Emma's pale, delicate one and bent forward to place a kiss atop it. "Do not worry about them, alright? You belong here with _me_. We have every right to dine here for our date, just like everyone else."

Emma took in her words with a simple nod of understanding. Regina was right. She was just letting her anxiety get the better of her. There was no need to panic about other people's thoughts when Regina's was the only that mattered.

"No you don't." The blonde's head snapped up to the table next to them. The man had spoken and his partner had turned to face the two, as Regina did the same with a glowering expression.

"Pardon?" The brunette's voice was surprisingly calm.

"You heard me." The man's voice was far more aggressive than it should have been. Both Regina and Emma flinched at the tone. "People of _your_ kind should not be allowed to eat with the rest of us."

"People of _my _kind? Do you have something against latinas?" Regina's brow quirked, but she knew what the man was referencing and it had nothing to do with her race.

"What? No! Don't make me out to be a racist, because I am _not_ that."

"Oh, but you sure can be homophobic, can you not?" Emma sneered and felt Regina's grip tighten on her hand.

"Emma, dear…"

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Regina gave her a slight nod and another light squeeze to her hands before speaking once again in a collective tone. "I do not see the harm in us dining in this fine establishment. We are not intentionally causing others discomfort, but you, sir, you are disturbing _us_."

"_I_ am disturbing _you_?"  
"That is what I said, yes. You have disrupted our dinner by making a rude comment about our life choices."

"It is you who are disturbing _us_. We are trying to have a peaceful meal, but _you_ had decided to come out of your stupid closet to bother us."

"Pardon me?" Regina's brows knit together, anger momentarily flashing through her eyes before they returned to their cool, calm, and collect state. "All we are doing is simply sitting here, trying to enjoy the light atmosphere as we wait for our server."

"They won't serve you." He spat and his wife nodded, finally speaking with every bit of digust in her voice.

"They wouldn't dare serve such unnatural behaviorists like yourselves. I mean, take a look around. Do _you_ see any other… homosexuals around you? I don't think so."

That woman sounded like a complete bitch, Emma thought, scowling from behind Regina's form.

"Perhaps not tonight, _dear_-"

"That is just _disgusting!_ Did you hear that, Lawrence? She's trying to _flirt_ with me."

"That is untrue." Regina tried to defend herself, but the others wouldn't let her talk.

"That's the way of the lesbian. They're shameless." The woman's husband, Lawrence, sniffed. "They'll flirt with _any_ woman in their general vicinity."

"All of them are simply _animals_. They have no morals and I cannot conceive _why_ they would let such… disgraces walk among us normal folk and _work_ at their businesses." Regina flinched, her grip tightening on Emma's hand.

"The definition of 'normal' is changing, but if your head wasn't so far up your insipid _ass_, you would know that." The brunette grit her teeth. "Pardon my language, but you really need to open your eyes. The world is changing around you and much quicker than you think. I am as much as a human as you are, the only differences are that I prefer women over men and I, at least, have a more logical thought process than you and your insolent husband."

"Now the lezzie's gone hostile!" Lawrence shouted, drawing attention from the tables further away. Emma felt her cheeks heat as she looked around, noticing that most of the restaurant's guests were now staring in their direction.

"I am _not_ hostile! I am just stating a simple fact. If anyone were abusive here, it would be _you_." Regina whipped completely around, releasing her death grip on the blonde's hands.

"Is there a problem here?" A man in a black tuxedo had walked over to the two couples. He smelled of authority.

_Must be the manager_.

"Yes, there is!" Lawrence sneered, his wife nodding in agreement. He jabbed a finger in Regina's direction. "These two _queers_ are bothering us and it is _disgusting_. I didn't want to have to cause any sort of disruption, but they are meddling with my wife and I's meal."

The man in the suit turned to Regina and Emma. "Are you bothering them?"

"No, we are not. We were simply sitting here, waiting patiently for our drinks to arrive and that gentleman over there made a rude comment towards our _private_ conversation. Then he proceeded to insult our life choices and altogether disrupt our dinner." Regina explained, her voice had reverted back to her usual calm tone. "I would even encourage you to ask the other lovely guests around us."

"There is no need for that," he smiled widely at her, then turned to gaze at the scowling couple next to them. "I had already asked a few of the servers that had witnessed this and their story is most consistent with yours, Ms. Mills, is it?"

"I do not fib." The brunette simply said. "And I dare not express my profession to prove such a point, but I cannot lie on the job."

"I believe you." The man gave her a genial smile before turning to the couple once again. "I wish not to do this, but I must ask you to leave the premises. Thank you for dining with us."

"We won't be coming again if you're going to allow _that_." The woman scoffed as she stood, grabbing her items.

"You're all sick!" Her husband growled as the two left the restaurant, but not before shoving their dinner plates to the floor on the way out in a petulant manner.

"I do sincerely apologize for his unruly behavior. Why don't you let us treat you to dinner? The meals are on us." The manager offered, motioning to the abandoned menu on the table. "Choose anything you wish and we shall bring it out for you."

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Regina said softly, taking correct position in her seat again.

"But we insist. After all, it is our job to keep our guests happy and stress-free. I will give you time to decide and have Meghan come back to take your order. I wish you a fantastic rest of the night and please, I do hope to see you again." His never ending grin was still in place as he turned to walk away, muttering something to their server who had been standing close to the two tables.

"Well, that certainly was exciting." Emma giggled softly and looked through the menu, eyeing all of the delicious choices. Her stomach growled just reading the enticing descriptions of each.

"It was, indeed." The brunette agreed, a small smile placed on her lips. "Unfortunately, assholes like them are not uncommon for me."

That had the blonde frowning. "Are you going to be alright, Gina?"

"Yes, I will be fine."

"He said some hurtful things…" Emma reached across the table to delicately cup the older woman's face, the warmth from the contact immediately spread and warmed the blonde's heart. "I don't want you to think anything bad of yourself. You are an _amazing_ woman."

"Emma…" Regina's eyes drew upwards to meet with emerald, slender fingers wrapped around a pale wrist.

"I… I really like you and I don't want to see you hurt, okay? I will do everything that I can to make you show that gorgeous and perfect smile." She let a smile of her own spread across plum painted lips.

"Okay," the teacher whispered with a small nod of her head. Then there was a slight twitch on her lips before it turned into a full fledged grin. "You always make me smile, dear."

"Good, I'm glad." Emma's smile on grew wider as their gazes locked in on each other's. There was something swirling in those brown orbs staring back at her. She couldn't quite place what it was, but she knew that whatever it was was something that the brunette felt deeply, even if she didn't have knowledge of it.

"Have you decided what you would like?" Regina suddenly broke the intense moment, the expression in her eyes dissipating quickly. "I've taken interest in the chicken alfredo."

"That sounded good, but the farmhouse burger sounded better." Emma set the menu aside and beamed.

"Of course you would order a burger in a classy restaurant." The brunette tsked, but continued to smile. "I suppose we need our server to place our order?"

So they had called the server over, who had been passing by at the time, and ordered their desired meals. It didn't feel like long at all before their plates were set in front of them, Regina inhaling and basking in the aroma of her pasta dish as Emma nearly drooled over her delicious looking burger.

The two of them ate in comfortable silence, each a little too hungry to hold a decent conversation while stuffing their faces with food. At one point, Emma had taken her fork and stole a piece of Regina's chicken, which in return, earned her a disapproving look. They both had ended up laughing before Emma nearly forced a piece of her burger into the English teacher's awaiting mouth. The brunette was rather reluctant at first to eat such a pedestrian dish, but had soon released an unwelcome noise of satisfaction after having tasted the juicy meat. The blonde laughed and lightly teased her before both went back to their meals and ate in silence once again until they had completely finished.

After a few more apologies from the staff about the couple's rude behavior, Emma and Regina made haste to the Mercedes and left the short distance back to their hotel. It wasn't long before both were to their room's floor at the higher part of the building and giggling over the pet dog that they had seen downstairs in the lobby.

Since the hotel was pet friendly, there had been a few guests with small dogs roaming around downstairs in what Regina called the "Canine Lovers Anonymous" group. Whatever humor she was trying to add to that, Emma just couldn't pinpoint, so she had laughed regardless.

But the dog they had seen was a complete fluffball. Of course, the canine was adorable as hell and originally wouldn't have been a laughing matter if it hadn't been pink- which had matched its owner's attire and own crazy ass pink hair. Regina had had a hard time trying to express her thoughts through her wheezing laughter.

"A cotton candy ball with legs and a trolldoll… phone the newsmen." was what she had tried to say, but it came out rather garbled and all that Emma had caught was "cotton candy with legs and trolldoll newsmen" which had ultimately made her double over halfway down the hallway to their hotel room.

It had taken them a while to finally calm down and enter their hotel room when Regina had finally succeeded in sliding the key card through the slot. Then, as they entered the room, they were engulfed by darkness and silence. The only noise to be heard were the rhythmic sounds of their breathing.

"Lights," Regina flicked a switch next to the door, turning on a light just above the door, illuminating the room. She soon kicked her heels off by the door, sighing with relief to be out of them and took her pea coat off as well, folding it neatly onto the couch. Emma, too, did the same by taking her boots off and red leather jacket, placing each next to Regina's own.

"It's good to get out of that," she commented, wiggling her toes.

"Indeed it is," Regina turned around with a smile on her face, but it all soon fell away as she caught sight of the blonde's attire for the second time. Emma had been too embarrassed while they were out to remove her jacket, so instead of showing off her goods and new dress, she decided to roast in the leather.

"Gina?"

"You…" The brunette trailed off, her lips parted as whisky eyes roved over the blonde's body and the exposed areas of skin. Emma scrunched her eyebrows together, her skin pebbling with goosebumps underneath the older woman's salacious gaze. When Regina's eyes finally met hers, she noticed them to be quite darker, like they often were in such moments. Curious.

Then, without warning, Regina had surged forward and pinned the blonde against the wall- making sure not to break anything upon it in the process- with her lips crashing against Emma's. It had taken Emma's brain a while to register what the hell was happening, but when she did, she just melted into the kiss and returned it with heat.

The brunette teacher's mouth continued to hungrily move against Emma's, only deepening when she had felt arms curl tightly around her neck and heard a soft moan from underneath her. Then she broke away from the kiss, leaving a panting Emma with nothing to do but whimper from the loss. But that was soon replaced with another soft moan that shot straight to the brunette's core as she trailed her lips down the soft, satin-like skin on the blonde's throat.

"Gina…" Emma gasped when she felt teeth graze against her delicate flesh.

"Emma," the brunette whispered back, raising her head to place a rather sloppy kiss to the corner of Emma's mouth, then pressed her own lips against the blonde's in a more appropriate kiss.

Without separating their lips, Regina carefully began to walk backwards, pulling the blonde with her by petite hips. It took a bit of stumbling and a few bumping into walls before the brunette had finally found the bed, which hadn't been at all graceful. The back of her knees hit the edge and caused her to collapse onto the mattress, leading to her pulling Emma down as well. It had all happened without breaking the kiss and they were still locked together in a passionate, yet quite heated, liplock. Their mouths molded together, moving at their own special rhythm.

Then, finally did the two break apart, gasping for air with flushed cheeks, swollen lips, and dilated pupils. They were only mere inches away from one another, heavy breath blowing steadily against each other's heated skin.

"Do you want to…?" Regina's breathless voice inquired and Emma knew immediately what she had meant. The blonde didn't give much thought, and responded with a nod of her head.

Regina nodded silently as well and tentatively brought a hand up to the back of the strap of Emma's dress. The blonde waited with baited breath, her cheeks no doubt turning a deeper shade of red, especially when the entire top fell away and pooled around her waist, exposing her to the brunette.

Regina's eyes flicked up from Emma's bare chest to meet with sheepish green eyes. "You're beautiful," she whispered, bringing a hand up to gently cup one of the round globes.

The blonde bit her lip and let her eyes droop shut, arching ever so slightly into the tentative hand. Regina's hand soon shifted and her thumb grazing over the already taught nipple, which had Emma groan unexpectedly and arched even further into the touch. God, everything ached right now, but the uncomfortable throbbing between her legs had her yearning to be touched. But the brunette seemed to have different plans as her head ducked forward to press a few tender kisses to the swell of Emma's breast, then it was her tongue soon replacing to taste the slight sheen of sweat forming on the pale skin.

"_Oh_…" The blonde's breath hitched when she felt that very tongue lave over the sensitive bud, and she ached for Regina to do it again, but the brunette moved away altogether, a devious smirk on her lips.

"I want you to take your clothes off." she purred, her voice causing a great deal of heat to pool in Emma's lower belly.

The blonde nodded and obligingly slipped her dress off the rest of the way, which had left her in a pair of black cotton panties. Her eyes hit the floor as she sat on the bed, being eaten up by the brunette's eyes. Dammit. Why didn't she have any sexy underwear? This was almost as big a turn off as granny panties.

"I-I know my underwear isn't sexy or anything… I… I never really had a reason- and I don't really… didn't really care… no one was going to see 'em anyways." Emma babbled, trying to amend the undergarments she wore.

"Take them off." Regina husked, her eyes had darkened until they appeared almost black.

"I know they're hideous…" The blonde mumbled.

"Take. Them. Off." The brunette's voice was now a low growl. "I don't care what they look like. I want to see _you_."

"O-oh…" Emma could feel the blush rising up her neck as she pushed the panties from her hips and down her long, pale legs. Then she tossed the scrap of material aside, self-consciously crossing one leg over the other.

"Oh, dear, you do not need to cover yourself. You are absolutely _stunning_." Regina grinned, her eyes taking all of Emma in. "If it makes you feel more comfortable, I will undress as well."

"No sense in only one of us wearing clothes…"

"Indeed," the brunette smirked and quickly lifted her dress over her head, tossing it towards the small pile of clothes.  
Emma just gawked at the older woman's body. She was nothing but pure _woman_ with delicious, shapely curves, smooth, olive skin, and, holy shit, her breasts were amazing. They weren't exactly perky, but they were still so plump and Emma wanted so desperately to feel those soft mounds in her hands. Regina had worn nothing but a black pair of lacy panties that had soon come off and piled next to the other clothes, leaving her completely bare in front of the blonde.

"Fuck, you're gorgeous, Gina." Emma reached out and tugged on the brunette's arm, forcing her to collapse back onto the bed. "I would die for a body like yours."

"You've still got some growing to do, dear." Regina smirked, although the blush on her cheeks was quite evident.

"I guess." Emma giggled and scoot to the middle of the bed where Regina had immediately crawled after her, and even further than that as her body began to hover over the teenager's small form, forcing her onto her back with anxious, green eyes. Her heartbeat increased incredulously as did her breath as dark, chocolate eyes bore into her own.

Then lips crashed together, tongues dueling against one another for some sort of dominance. Emma could feel the older woman's leg move between her own, gently nudging them apart, and right then, the blonde knew this was serious. Of course, she had figured that out a while ago, but it was really happening now. The way that the brunette's knee pressed against her center had Emma squirming with a whimper, her hips grinding desperately against it.

"Oh, god, Gina…" she whispered, her hands finding purchase on the brunette's back where short nails slightly dug into the soft flesh.

"You are _soaked_, aren't you, dear?" The brunette growled, one of her hands disappearing between their bodies. It had found the blonde's aching core to prove a point as her fingers moved along the slit and teasingly dipped into the folds. "Do I really make you feel this way?"

"Y-yes…" Emma gasped, her nails digging into Regina's back when she felt one of the fingers easily slide into her. "You always have."

"Have I?" she asked, sliding the digit out only to thrust back in, then repeated the action in a steady rhythm. "I know that _you_ make me so very _wet_. Just the very thought of you just shoots heat right to my very core…"

_Oh, god, her dirty talk was hot. _

Emma never thought Regina to be the type to say such crass things, but then again, never judge a book by its cover. The brunette _did_ mention there were things that Emma didn't know about her, and apparently quite dark things such as this.

"Tell me, Emma," she hissed into the blonde's ear, adding another finger with her thrusts. "Have you ever touched yourself while thinking of me? Have you ever wished that your own hand was mine instead?"

"Yes," the blonde groaned, her hips moving at a steady pace to meet each of Regina's thrusts. "O-on several occasions…"

"You're a dirty, dirty girl, Emma." Regina chuckled and pressed a kiss to the blonde's throat. "I find it quite… arousing." she purred, trailing her lips further down the blonde's torso, her fingers continuing their pumps.

"H-have you?" Emma questioned through several pants, heavy with desire.

"Have I what, dear?"

"Have you touched… yourself with thoughts of me?" It sounded quite strange coming out of the blonde's mouth as she asked her _teacher_ that very question.

"Yes," was the brunette's simple answer as she now lay flat on her stomach, her head level with Emma's soaked core.

"Oh, _god_…" Emma moaned, her fists twisting in the sheets as she watched Regina's head disappear between her thighs and felt that goddamn tongue start to teasingly lick at her sensitive flesh.

Her breaths were nothing but short puffs, her heart hammering as if on overdrive in her chest. That woman sure knew how to use her tongue, and quite well, Emma noted as she felt the pink muscle slip between her folds and find the sensitive bundle of nerves.

"Shit… Re-Regina…" Her brain nearly blanked when Regina's tongue relentless moved in time with her fingers, strumming against the blondes clitoris, her back arching off the mattress in response as her hand desperately tried to find something to grab onto for dear life.

Emma's brain _had_ blanked when the brunette's fingers curled and hit the right spot that pushed the blonde over the edge. Her toes curled and her body stiffened as she rode the waves of pleasure coursing throughout her entire being, Regina had helped her ride it out with a few more thrusts of her digits.

"F-fuck…" The blonde had finally regained control of her mind and body after finding ground once again, her heart thumping wildly as if she had just run a marathon. Emma had opened her eyes from their squeezed state and stare at the brunette as she climb back up to lay next to the blonde, a wide smile on her lips.

"I hope I made a good first impression," she mewled, one of her hands pushing a few strands of blonde hair behind Emma's ear.

"Considering you're my first, I must say you did a pretty good goddamn job." Emma rolled onto her side to face Regina.

"You didn't divulge in such information." Regina quirked a brow. "You've never had sex before?"

Then she shrunk against the bed, looking quite ashamed of herself, because, no, she hadn't. She probably should have told Regina at some point, but it really didn't seem to matter. It wasn't like she had anything that would give any indicators of that. Of course, her inexperience would probably falter the brunette and make her rethink the entire thing.

"No," she muttered quietly, feeling quite small at the moment.

"I wish you would have told me," Regina frowned and cupped the blonde's cheek. "I would have made it special for you."

"But this _was_ special…" Emma tried a smile, her hand covering the older woman's. "Really special for me. Don't fret about it."

"Oh, but sweetheart…"

"Hey, there'll be plenty of times where you can make it special- I mean if you wanna do this again. You probably won't after you let me attempt to touch you." She'd probably suck horribly at it.

"I wouldn't blame you if you were to have fault. It would be your first time, after all."

"Yeah, I suppose," she shrugged, letting her hand fall away to Regina's hip. "Want me to try it?"

"Well, I _am_ rather horny at the moment," there was that humorous twinkle in those brown eyes again. Emma just _loved_ that look.

"Then let me take care of that. Or at least to the best of my abilities."

"As long as you make me orgasm, I am satisfied." Regina smirked, nuzzling closer to the blonde until they were but a hair width apart.

"I shall be determined." Emma leaned forward, closing the gap between them, and kissed Regina softly.

It wasn't long until the kiss had gotten heated to where they were very nearly trying to swallow each other's faces. Emma's hand- that had been on Regina's hip- dropped down to the brunette's lower belly. She certainly did hope that she didn't screw anything up and that meant that she had to keep her mind cleansed of all fears so she wouldn't do just that.

The way Regina's groaned into her mouth as her fingers danced across her skin had Emma encouraged, and enough so to let her digits travel further until they reached the patch of intimate curls covering the brunette's sex. She felt Regina's legs move, opening up for the blonde's exploring fingers, and so she took the invitation to delve deeper into the soaked curls.

"Oh, god, I _need_ you, Emma…" The brunette panted, grinding wantonly against the blonde's hand. "I'm _aching_…"

"Then I will give you what you want…" Emma murmured against the teacher's cheek as she used her fingers to part the folds and explore between them. She allowed her slender digits to slide vertically within the crack of Regina's intimate flesh, her fingers already soaked with the brunette's arousal. The noises she had started to make had her movements speed to a faster pace.

"_Please_," Regina panted, her hips rocking against Emma's hand, desperately seeking for more pressure. The blonde smirked, obliging her simple plea and guided her fingers up until they grazed over the pert nub that had the brunette gasp and arch her back into Emma.

"_Right there… oh… yes…_" Emma applied pressure this time as she allowed her fingers to run over the sensitive bundle once again, and again before stopping to rub tight circles against it, which earned few guttural moans of pure bliss. Then she felt a tight grip on her arms, which had alerted her that Regina had started to use her as some sort of ground to set her feet on as her hips continued to move at an even quicker pace than before.

"I-I'm close, Emma…" she groaned, hiding her face in the blonde's neck. "_Oh, god… faster…_"

The blonde bite her lip and tried her best at a faster pace, trying her best to ignore the stinging, sore muscles in her arm as it began to protest the mundane movement. Just as Emma thought she would have to stop, she felt the brunette's intimate bits constrict and her movements suddenly slowing to a stop as she came. The blonde held onto Regina with her free arm as she continued with her motions, although a little slower, and helped ride the orgasm out.  
Regina's stiff form soon turned limp as the high was over and Emma's second arm wrapped tightly around the brunette's body. The older woman's face was still buried in Emma's neck, and she could feel the heavy breaths that puffed against her skin as she soon moved away after a few moments.

"I hope I did good," the blonde whispered, looking down into exhausted, brown eyes.

"You did excellently, Emma. Perfect, even."

"Good," she mumbled, nosing into the sweat soaked raven locks. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I did enjoy it. Perhaps a little too much." Regina chuckled softly, yawning shortly after. "I don't know about you, but I am exhausted."

"I am, too." Emma mumbled. "Is it always this tiring?"

"Not always. But we've had a long day and this was the perfect ending to it." The brunette responded, shifting out of Emma's arms. The blonde frowned at the loss of heat, but was soon aware that Regina had been moving to crawl underneath the blankets. Quickly, she did the same and snuggled underneath the warmth.

"Right. I think it's sleepy time, don't you?"

"Yes." Regina yawned once again and squirmed closer to the blonde's body. "Goodnight, Emma."

"Goodnight, Gina…" she could only whisper in response, her eyes drooping helplessly. How the hell she got so tired so quickly was beyond her, but hell, she would take it if that meant actually sleeping.

"I love you," Emma heard Regina's husky voice mumble beside her, which had the blonde do a sort of double take at the older woman. Green met brown, and green instantly melted.

She knew what that look in the brunette's eyes were now. Oh, god, how could she be so stupid? How could she be so stupid with herself, even? Here she was, her feelings for this woman slowly growing even before they had started to date. She denied it all she would and convinced herself that she had liked the brunette, and nothing more. There were no deeper feelings for her, but she had been dead wrong. All of these feelings she had for the brunette. The utter joy she had upon seeing that smile on her face, her desire to _make_ that smile appear on her face, the butterflies she got with just one look, the way her heart fluttered with every touch, the way her heart just seemed to _expand_ with every sweet word… It had all boiled down to one thing. That one thing that Emma was afraid of the most, and that was _love_. No matter the situation, she was always reluctant to express her feelings if it had involved love. It was one of her weaknesses and a terrible one at that.

It Emma were to be in this situation, say, four years ago, there would be no way she could ever respond correctly to it. She would more than likely run away like she did with most of her problems- or when things got serious. But ever since moving to Storybrooke, things have changed greatly. _She_ had changed greatly and today's Emma _could_ express how she felt more easily. Even if that particular feeling were love. So she did what the new Emma would do and said it.

"I love you too."


	14. The Morning After

**A/N: ANDITSSOLATEPLEASEDONTKILLME. I know I hadn't updated it in a while. I deeply apologize for that, but everything has been absolutely crazy the passed couple of weeks for me. As I had said in the last chapter's author's note, I will be moving by the end of this month. it'll be exactly one week from today that I will be moving and I am not sure if I will get another chapter or not completed within that time frame. I will try my best for you lovely readers! **

**I have a list of excuses as to why this is super duper late. (Again, I apologize). For one, my laptop BROKE. The monitor stopped working altogether, which makes sense since one of the hinges was broken anyhow. I'm surprise it had lasted this long like that. But, I had luckily got a new one (or next-to-new), so we are golden with that. I also had a lovely five day weekend that I probably could have used to catch up on writing, but it was rather hard to concentrate when you are trapped in a hotel room with a hyper, six-year-old nephew. Also, I've been a bit busy with packing and such (but not all too much since I literally spent eight hours straight writing this lovely chapter, which I hope isn't shit because I am SUPER exhausted :D).**

**Anywho, I would LOVE to thank you all for your patience and wonderful reviews! I appreciate that you aren't creating a mob or something to hunt me down by now. So thank you. :) But, here is a new chapter of Teacher's Pet for you, even though it is super duper late! I really do hope you enjoy it! And please leave a review, I'd love read what you think! (you guys are always so entertaining and thoughtful with your reviews and I greatly appreciate your feedback and shameless suggestions ;))**

* * *

"Ah!" The blonde teenager jolted upright from her slumber as she felt something heftily slap her on the chest. And, boy, did that hurt like a son of a bitch.

Emma groaned softly, stirring in her spot to glare at the source on the opposite side of the bed. However, the glowering look hadn't lasted more than a few milliseconds before realizing that it had been Regina- who currently was still slumbering with the most innocent look on her visage. The woman was absolutely stunning and the way that the morning sun's soft rays of light had Regina's skin absolutely glowing. She was nothing but pure perfection, her body was like the ones in magazines- or so Emma would think. Although, her position was a little awkward- being splayed out on her stomach with one arm under her chin and the other haphazardly thrown on Emma's side- and she must be cold with her thighs being the only thing covered.

Regina must have rolled over just moments ago and accidentally throw her arm on Emma in one of the most unpleasant ways. But the blonde still couldn't be angry at all with the brunette, for she was sleeping after all, plus, she looked just so damn adorable with that relaxed expression on her face.

"Beautiful…" Emma whispered, bringing a hesitant hand out to gently stroke the older woman's raven locks. Regina stirred only slightly, a soft smile on her face before a snore ripped through the otherwise quiet air.

"Fuck, you're… still too adorable." She smirked and stroke the brunette's cheek with the back of her hand. She knew how much Regina detested being called adorable, because she just simple _could not_ be. Emma did not care, she would keep calling Regina adorable all she wanted until she finally accepted that fact, or at least the fact that the blonde was rather relentless.

Right now, though, the brunette didn't exactly fall in the adorable category- or at least when Emma let her eyes drift down the taut, sunkissed skin of Regina's back. _Damn_, even her back was beautiful and perfect, and it look so touchable…

She ran her fingers through brunette hair one last time, her fingers sliding from the tendrils to skitter down the olive toned flesh. It was just as soft as it had looked and lived up to her imagination. Emma's eyes followed her fingers as they traced the brunette teacher's spine, stopping abruptly at the base with wide eyes. There, underneath her pale fingers, was _not_ natural colored flesh.

_What the fuck?_

Emma moved her hand away to squint at the rather small discoloration to find it shaped as a deep, red apple. A _very_ detailed apple, at that and it appeared to have very small words written around it. Quite strange, is it, to have an apple on her lower back? The blonde knew that she loved the fruit, but why would she have a tattoo of one? And what the hell did it say?

Suddenly curious, Emma wiggled her way down the mattress to soon come closer to the apple tattoo. It was rather hard to concentrate on what the tiny words said when the older woman's voluptuous behind was in her face. They were like two scoops of fucking ice cream and looked far better out of those tight skirts and ass-hugging slacks. Her dream of being able to touch Ms. Mills's ass had come true, and god, she could _actually_ do it if she wanted to right now.

_But_, she had a mission to complete. Tearing her eyes away from Regina's bum, she, instead, guided her attention to the apple that lay in a very enticing place and read the small, cursive print.

"_Flip me over and have a taste of my forbidden fruit._"

"Fucking hell…" Emma reread the small font several times over, trying to conceive what it had said and make sure that she hadn't misread anything.

"I see you've discovered my tattoo." A voice, heavy with sleep, grumbled and Emma's hand felt the vibrations underneath it as Regina had spoken. That didn't sate her more-than-mild jump of surprise and embarrassment of having being caught.

"Y-yeah…" The blonde stuttered, trying to find the right words to not sound like a complete idiot. "When… Why? I mean…"

"I know what you mean, dear." The brunette's body began to rumble with laughter. "I got it when I was your age, dear. I was young and careless and I didn't think it mattered- since I strongly believed that I would be a successful writer with a risqué tattoo- also, defying my mother seemed quite an attractive idea. But I was wrong about my career and my defiance. I'm lucky that I got it on my lower back, so it's easily hidden."

"But… why…" Emma sucked in a breath and squirmed her way back up to face the brunette, who was still lying in the same position. "Why _that_?"

"I like apples and I thought it to be humorous at the time since apples are the forbidden fruit as well as... well, genitals. I was a rather… dirty girl."

"You still are…" The blonde mumbled under her breath, earning a chuckle from the older woman.

"Indeed I am, so the tattoo still suits me, correct?"

"You like apples." Emma shrugged, a smirk playing on her lips as her fingertips traced the contour of the apple tattoo. "And I'm quite sure your _forbidden fruit_ tastes delicious."

"Wouldn't you like to find out?" The brunette flashed a seductive grin, her nose wrinkling ever so slightly as she bared her pearly teeth. "And I'm being absolutely serious when I'm asking you that question."

"Oh, are you now?" The blonde's fingers made small, circular strokes around the tattoo on the small of the teacher's back. "What does this say, now?" she asked innocently, bending over the older woman to take a peek, her blonde locks lightly tickling the olive toned surface.

"Why don't you read it and find out?" Regina purred.

Emma let a grin spread wide across her lips as her eyes, once again, scanned over the words. "Flip me over and have a taste of my forbidden fruit." she repeated what she had read. "God, you're bad, you know?"

"Oh, I know." The brunette chuckled deeply, which had raised the hairs pleasantly up on Emma's body. "I do hope you know what you need to do."

"I think I do." Emma bit her lip and brought herself onto her knees to get better balance on the bed. She reached for the opposite side of Regina and, without hesitancy, flipped the brunette teacher over, earning a squawk of surprise.

"Why, hello there, dear." The brunette smirked, her whisky colored eyes staring lustfully at the blonde above her.

"You're even more beautiful in the sunlight, Gina. Breathtaking, even." Emma whispered as she moved to straddle the older woman's hips. A sweet smile was soon spread across her lips, and a hand had found its way onto the brunette's soft cheek, her thumb stroking it in the slightest.

Regina nuzzled the warm hand, her eyes half-mast as she watch Emma through slit eyes. Her cheeks were dusted with pink, her eyes on Emma's every movement and her breath hitching when the blonde's pale fingers roamed over her satin skin, soon covering one of the swells on her chest.

Emma couldn't bite back the smile that spread wide across her lips. The expression Regina wore was breathtaking and also quite arousing. Her visage was relax with a blissful, pleasured smile. Her breast felt like a little sack of heaven, which was everything that Emma will have thought. It was soft and firm, and the peak of it greeted Emma's hand eagerly.

"Emma…" The brunette murmured breathlessly, slender fingers combing through the girl's blonde mane.

"It's soft," she muttered stupidly in response, kneading the mound of flesh rather slowly, as if she were admiring and marveling in the feel of it. "I think I found my new favorite thing."

"_Oh_, have you, love?" Regina purred, pressing herself against the blonde's hand. There was a soft smirk on her plump lips as she let her fingers slide through the younger woman's curls and down her smooth, pale back.

Emma shivered underneath her touch and grinned at the little endearment as she shift her body into a far more comfortable position, nestling herself between the brunette teacher's spread legs. "I am 'love' now?"

The older woman nodded, her arms now wrapping completely around Emma, pressing their exposed skins against each other. "Indeed you are, _my_ _love_. You are all mine and I am all _yours._"

"Who would have thought that," the blonde chuckled softly and pressed a kiss to Regina's throat, then trailed soft kisses further down until they reached the brunette's clavicle. Her lips peppered the expanse of skin there, causing Regina's body to shake with small bouts of laughter. Emma couldn't help the curve that immediately lifted her mouth into a grin. What _did_ Regina taste like, she wondered? She _was_ in the correct position, and she was quite sure the brunette surely wouldn't mind if she licked her? So Emma did just that, dragging her tongue back up to Regina's throat, using the valley between her breasts as a guide.

_She tasted faintly of apples._

The brunette shivered underneath the younger woman's mouth, her back slightly arching and her nails digging into Emma's pale skin.

"_Oh, Emma…_" she mewled into the blonde locks.

Emma smiled against the teacher's sun kissed flesh as she soon brought them down once again, tracing an invisible line down Regina's torso. The further she went, the louder the whimper came from the brunette, and a few pleas for her to soothe her aching arousal. It wasn't long before Emma had reached the woman's intimate flesh, her body now flat on the bed and her head level with Regina's slick heat.

Tentatively, the blonde laved her tongue along the older woman's folds, her eyes immediately drooping as she enjoyed the new flavor that exploded on her taste buds. Regina was sweet, just as her favorite apples, and slightly bitter- but in all good ways possible. Emma could swear she was her new favorite flavor, and every time the blonde would eat an apple, she would be brought back to this very morning- or at least her thoughts would veer to the brunette.

"_Hu… yes… More, Emma. Please._" The brunette moaned, her back arching as her hips gyrated forward against the blonde's mouth, trying to add more pressure and movement to her aching center.

Emma abided the request and proceeded to repeat her movement, this time adding slightly more pressure as she ended on the older woman's sensitive nub. Regina's body jerked slightly before grinding against the blonde's face, her legs spreading wide as she begged for more. Emma could only groan against the slick flesh in response before slipping her tongue into the brunette, her hands finding purchase on the insides of Regina's thighs.

Emma set a steady pace as she dart her tongue from Regina's writhing form. The brunette made few noises as she concentrate on finding her release, which hadn't taken long as the blonde slipped her tongue from the older woman's entrance and found her throbbing bundle of nerves, and flicked the little pink muscle over it until she came with a soft cry of pleasure. Her back arched off the bed in the intense moment of pure bliss and her fingers tugged and twisted in the soft blonde locks on her lover's head as she helped the brunette through the spasms of her orgasm and the aftershocks, licking and laving up any juices that had seeped out.

"_Fuck_," the brunette allowed a soft moan to rumble in the back of her throat when Emma had finished up with her licks and crawled back up the length of Regina's body.

"Language," Emma whispered, pressing a kiss just below the older woman's ear. "You always tell me to keep a clean mouth."

"Having sex is an exception." Regina smirked and wrapped her arms tightly around the younger woman's body, her chest heaving as she continued to catch her breath.

"It sounds sexy coming from you."

"You think everything I do is sexy, Emma."

"That's because you're just an all-around sexy woman, Gina," Emma purred. "And I love it. I love _you_."

That had the brunette teacher smiling, a watery, yet affectionate smile, spread widely across her lips. She brought a hand up to push a few strands of the blonde hair from Emma's face before cupping her cheek. "And I love you, beautiful."

The blonde's cheeks heated with embarrassment and buried her face in Regina's raven locks, inhaling the faint apple scent with a purr. "You're a sweetheart, Gina. And I'm genuinely surprised… just… flabbergasted that you actually _love_ me back."

"Why wouldn't I, dear?" The brunette frowned softly, her tanned fingers combing through golden strands of hair.

Emma let herself go limp against Regina's body, a strained sigh slipping from her lips. She never though anyone would love a kid, a person, like her. In every home that she had ever been in, she had never been loved- or at least truly so. The blonde had been set to firmly believe that she would never be worth anyone's love, especially after the foster kids had brought her down and rubbed her unworthiness in her face.

But there was Regina, here in Storybrooke. There _was_ Storybrooke and the Nolans, who loved her dearly. There was this _place_ that actually made the blonde teenager feel happy and feel wanted. And there was that _one_ person, that one person that loved her in the ways Emma thought would never be a possibility. It was something like a miracle that the blonde was ever able to find Regina, even though she may be several years her senior. Age didn't matter in love, did it?

"I'm an unlovable, worthless piece of trash, or so I had been told many times when I was younger… and then some until I arrived here." Emma murmured, scooting her body down the brunette's slightly to lay her chin on the older woman's chest.

"Oh, Emma, dear…" Regina had a visible frown on her face, although had nothing but love sparkling in her chocolate eyes, not a single dose of pity. "Why haven't you told me this before?"

"I don't want people to feel sorry for me or anything… and if I say something like this to certain people, they may think that I _am_ looking for some sort of sympathy. But I'm not. I... I just like to be left alone." Her eyes fell shut as she felt Regina's hand gently caress her cheek. "It wasn't like anyone cared about me, anyways. I was nothing but a dirty street kid, a-… a broken foster kid."

"Let me tell you something, Emma." Regina shifted slightly up to bring her back to the headboard and Emma up with her. Her soft, pink lips pressed a tender kiss to the blonde's awaiting forehead. "_You_ are worth something to _me_. I _love_ you… I love you more than I ever thought I could. Dear, I have similar fears to your own that I have not expressed to _anyone_. But that is not the point.

The point is, that those kids were wrong. Everyone deserves love, everyone is worth something, and everyone has a purpose. They were just trying to hurt you because they were already hurting, and I doubt that they would want to see you happy and whole while they were shattered…"

"I know… I've figured all of that out. But what they have said to me had stuck and my brain _believes_ that I am not worth any time for anyone, especially not worthy of love. _Your_ love." The blonde tilted her head, emerald eyes meeting with soft, brown ones. "You're an amazing woman and you deserve so much more than me."

"But I don't want anyone else but you, Emma." Regina whispered, bringing Emma's face closer to her own. "You've shown me that I could love and that someone could feel the same about me."

"But what about our age difference? Aren't you… scared? Disgusted? Turned off by it?"

"I was at first, trust me, Emma. I was. It had scared me- these feelings that were starting to form upon meeting you and our time spent together. I found myself slowly yearning to see you again, and anxious for the fourth period class when I would see you again. And lunch, where we would talk and spend time with one another… alone. I liked being alone with you and I still do quite enjoy it.

"And when we first kissed, I knew where I was with my feelings for you. And right then, I knew that I couldn't possibly lose you- at least so soon. All of the fears about our age difference and the consequences that might come of our student-teacher relationship had vanished. Love doesn't know any boundaries, and life is too short to pass up such a rare opportunity. You never know if it will come again and you'll never know where something like this would go if you were to pursue it.

"Emma, I do love you, however strange that might be. And I want to… I don't want to scare you, or anything, but I do not want to let you go."

"I can't promise anything, Gina. I can't. One day I may be up for whatever the world may throw at me and the next I might want to run away and hide…" Emma sighed softly, her voice a soft murmur. "Love is scary to me and I'm not used to it. These feelings might make me want to run… but I think of the consequences and the one that keeps me grounded would be the thought of how it would affect _you_. I don't want to hurt you by just giving into my fears. But whatever might happen between us…"

"Nothing bad will happen." Regina whispered, petting the blonde's hair in rhythmic strokes.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can't, but someone needs to say it so we're reassured and that we'll believe nothing bad will happen. I know that whatever we have here will be a long, bumpy road, with many twists and turns, and something will be bound to happen, but we'll just have to strive through it… Unless we can't."

"I don't want to get to a point like that." Emma sighed and rolled onto her back next to the brunette woman.

"I assure you that it won't happen anytime soon, alright, sweetheart?" Regina flashed her that perfect, radiating smile before tossing onto her side with a finger trailing down the blonde's abdomen. Emma shivered from the contact, her muscles constricting with angst.

"Now, let me-" The teacher grunted slightly as she hoist herself up and on top of the blonde teenager that lay next to her. "-make love to you. It's my turn."

"Make love?" Emma quirked a brow and bit her lip as dark, lust filled eyes stare curiously at Regina.

"Yes. I am going to make up for last night… I want to make this special for you- and even more so now that you know of my feelings. I can whisper 'I love you' as I fuck you senseless." The brunette purred, her hot mouth mere inches from Emma's own.

"… fuck me senseless." She echoed.

"Yes, I will, my love." Regina smirked, pressing her lips lightly to the blonde's. "And I do hope you will enjoy it."

"I will, Gina. I definitely will." Emma breathed, tilting her head up to capture the brunette teacher's plump lips again, this time in a proper kiss. Her fingers twisted in raven locks as the older woman kissed her back with great vigor, the entire lower half of her body pressing against Emma's naked flesh.

Their lips molded together in a heated tango with pale fingers curling into raven locks and olive fingers skating down porcelain flesh. Emma's breath hitched as she felt those very fingers slide further south, down her awaiting flesh. When they met with her core, her entire body reacted with great enthusiasm; nails digging into tanned skin, hips bucking upwards, and legs closing in around the hand that pleasured her.

"_Oh, Regina…_" she moaned softly, her back arching slightly off the bed as her hips continued to roll at their own mediocre pace when the brunette teacher had started to slowly add pressure to a certain spot that had Emma's eyes nearly rolling to the back of her head. "Please don't stop."

"I don't plan on it, dear. The precious noises that you make are quite… enticing, and they are my new favorite melody." Regina purred into the blonde's ear before using that mouth of hers to trail tender kisses down the sweat-beaded skin of Emma's neck. "I plan to keep the song playing. After all… this is special."

"Mhm…_yes_, it is." The blonde bit her lip, her eyes squeezing shut as the brunette let her fingers pump harder onto the spot that had her squirming on the bed underneath the older woman's slowly rocking form.

"God, you're a dirty girl aren't you? You like this, hm?"

"I-I do…" Emma groaned, her short nails digging into Regina's arms as the brunette made one hard thrust, then proceeded to keep at that pace.

"Tell me, how much do you like this?"

"I love it," she tried to keep at the new pace, her hips grinding and moving wantonly against her lover's hand.

"Good." The word that came out of her mouth was a deep, seductive growl that had Emma nearly over the edge already. "Now, tell me… What do you want? Do you want _more?_ Do you want it _harder?_ Do you want it _faster?_ Tell me, Emma dear, _what do you want?_"

"I-I want all of those things." Emma couldn't help but to moan her words as the brunette had, in fact, sped up with harder thrusts, her fingers soon delving further between the folds and knuckle-deep into the blonde's body.

"Then you shall receive, my dear." Her voice was nothing but pure lust and her pupils were blown wide with desire. This woman was nothing but a walking, talking body of pure sex and everything she did, even so much as a single glance, had Emma tingling in all the right places. Did she only hope that she at least sparked _something_ for the brunette teacher as well. Regina _had_ said something about the way Emma made her feel, hadn't she?

"_Fuck, Gina_…" she whimpered, the pace of her lower half increasing in time with each wrist flick. "_Please… m-more…"_

"Of course, my dear." The brunette smirked, her mouth soon attaching itself to the blonde's neck with teeth scraping against pale flesh and tongue tasting the salty surface. "_Anything for you…_"

"You're so sweet." The blonde murmured against raven hair as the older woman made her move down to the swell of flesh on Emma's chest. Her lips ghosted over the soft mound, her tongue every so often darting out to catch a taste of the pale skin until it had reached the already hardened nub waiting as it protruded proudly in its rose-colored glory.

Then Regina's hot mouth was covering the tip and sucking rhythmically with each thrust she put into Emma. This had the blonde squirming in her spot, her back arching almost involuntarily into the brunette's mouth and her entire being moving to the beat that the older woman had set. It wasn't long until she felt the pressure building and thought nothing but to achieve the release that she needed. Every movement was jerky and frantic, and she could feel the brunette's fingers moving faster and her tongue swirling even quicker around her swollen nipple.

And then she exploded. Little white stars clouded her vision and she felt nothing but pure bliss as her body tensed and slowed in its ultimate release. And as she was coming down from her high, Regina's fingers pulling from her body and her mouth moving away from her chest, she heard three little words expressed in a husky, yet rather sweet, whisper.

"_I love you_."

"I love you, too," she panted, sinking against the mattress, completely spent.

"I like it when you say that." Regina smiled sweetly, brushing a few wayward strands of gold from Emma's face. "It feels so… _good_ to be loved by someone."

"Have you never been loved by anyone?" Emma frowned and shifted her body as the older woman occupied the open space next to her. "I couldn't imagine that."

"My mother was the only one to ever love me, or that I had ever loved." She confessed, her voice meek. "It was all of my mother's fault, really. She's one of those twisted women that get into your head and make you believe everything that she says, and her being my mother was just the icing on the cake. She made me… she made me believe that no one would ever love such an insolent child such as I- or at least that's what she said whenever I will have done anything remotely a normal child should."

Emma's face creased into a much deeper frown at this new information as she digested what the brunette teacher was telling her. That was really fucked up, but she feared that what Regina was telling her right now wasn't even the worst part of it. The way her chocolate orbs shimmered was proof enough, if the next words that came out of her mouth were.

"And, even when I was good, she had always said she was the only person in my life that I needed. My father had died when I was rather young and she had said that it meant our bond and love for one another would only be stronger since there would be no one else to love. Any friends that I had had when I was younger somehow always managed to disappear at some point in time- either to move or altogether quit talking to me. I had always suspected my mother, after all, every time one of my friends had disappeared, she always tried to reassure me and say that mother loved and liked me the most and that she would never leave me like those ungrateful brats, and that mother was the only one that I had ever needed.

"By the time I had ever reached middle school and high school, I was known as the loner. The only time people had ever taken notice in my presence or had wanted to talk to me was when they wanted something. My mother was, and is, quite rich. I probably should have been the most popular girl in school and living the dream with all the luxuries that I had, but I was nothing but a mama's girl. But behind all of that was a darkness not even the devil himself could imagine…

"Despite how much my mother manipulated me and had caused my ever growing loneliness, I loved her and I firmly believed that I needed no one besides her. She had corrupted my young mind and it had taken me quite some time to figure out that that was wrong and that I shouldn't have had to live like that. I know now what she was trying to do, especially after my leaving home- which was hell in itself.

"She had literally kicked me out after she found out that I was gay." Regina closed her eyes, a few tears slipping down her flawless olive face. "God, and what a way for her to find out. She was supposed to have been taking a business trip and wasn't due back for a while. My mother had decided- instead of calling ahead and informing me of her arrival- to surprise me with her presence… and with surprising me, came surprising the girlfriend that I had at the time. Least to say, she wouldn't have bought the sleepover bit that I had used before since the girl and I were completely nude and virtually humping each other against the wall.

"I was freshly graduated from high school and she had wanted to keep me home for whatever twisted reason she had planned. That woman was manipulative, abusive, and not the least bit of sane- and boy, was I definitely glad to get the hell out of that place. Perhaps not at first, since, after all, I was alone, afraid, and my girlfriend had freaked out and dumped me. But I managed to put myself together and use the money that my mother had saved up for me in a college fund.  
"After finding solid ground, though, and acquiring a job at the local newspaper, I had realized how much better off I was without my mother. I found that it was easier to breathe without her suffocating aura around me and I felt free for once. Of course, I still had all of the fears that my mother had shoved into my head haunting me on a daily basis. It was rather hard to become friends with others, and after having to survive three other schools with fake friends because of my rich background and the lies that my mother had crammed into my brain, I just hadn't trusted anyone. My mother was the only person that I needed in my life- and for some reason I had always wanted to make her proud. I…"

The brunette paused, her lips slightly parted in thought about what she had wanted to say next. Whatever it was, it was putting up a rather difficult battle inside her head. She hesitated a bit more and Emma thought she wouldn't even finish her thought, but then she spoke with a very, _very_ quiet voice that the blonde would have missed if she weren't so concentrated on the teacher's next words.

"I still want to…"

"Hey, you don't have to feel bad about that. You're lucky to have a mother that loves you…" Emma reached out to gently grace her fingers across Regina's tear stained cheeks.

"I know… but I feel so horrible for wanting her. She... she was the only one that I had ever talked to about major personal things… A-and I felt so lost when she stopped returning my messages. Ever since that day she seemed so distant and all I want is my mother to love me again. I want her to be proud of where I'm at… I want that look on her face- like the last time she had visited a couple years ago- where she just had the _biggest_ smile on her face and that _twinkle_ in her eye that- that made me _melt_ because she was _proud_. She was proud of where I had gotten in life and that I wasn't fucking up like I had been when I first started out… I-I was being a good girl.

"I-I _was_ a good girl… b-but I must have done something that made her want to…. That made her disconnect… She doesn't love m-me anymore and I've been a bad girl… I've done several bad things since her departure that made her not love me anymore…"

"Gina…" Emma's green eyes were wide as saucers as she watched the brunette teacher break down in front of her, the sentences she was trying to form soon turned into senseless babbling about how her mother did not love her anymore and that she was such a bad girl, even though she was trying to be good.  
The blonde's heart went out to the woman. They weren't so different after all, as Emma had thought they were. Regina seemed to have the perfect life and she even envied her, but after hearing what her mother had done and what she was… She wasn't so jealous anymore. The two were more alike than Emma could ever imagine. Neither had luck with friends nor love and both were convinced that they would never be loved nor liked- although each were different in their own ways.

"Hey, look, ba-…uh…Regina, I'm sure your mother just got caught up with stuff or maybe something happened and she just can't contact you." Emma tried her best to comfort the sniveling woman. She was quite awkward in these types of situations and she didn't know quite how to handle them. But that didn't stop her from trying. Regina was her girlfriend after all and she loved her more than she ever thought she could love another, and she just did not want to see her cry, because seeing her cry broke Emma's heart.

She softly stroke raven locks in attempt to calm the shaking form next to her, her fingers also traveling down the woman's back and then back up again to repeat. "Gina… Gina… you're her only daughter, yeah? I doubt that she doesn't love you. A mother always loves her child in some way and by the way you were talking about her, she wants nothing but your love as you do hers. Perhaps something went wrong when you had last contacted her? Maybe something was said or missed, or seen, I don't know… But there has to be a more logical reason than her not loving you- because I doubt that."

"I-I don't know, Emma…."

"When was the last time that you left her a message?"

"I-… a few months ago. It was the last in many that went unanswered."

"Why don't you try to call her again or something? Maybe there was something wrong with the phone service, because I know sometimes those can be a bitch. Something could have gone down, I don't know. But I do encourage you to try and talk with her again… see if something changes?" Emma ran her fingers through Regina's hair one last time before pushing a lock behind her ear. "I mean, I kinda suck at this type of stuff and I don't know what the fuck to say. I hope-"

"That sounds like a good idea, Emma." The brunette cut her off. "I hadn't thought of that. I shall contact her once we return back to Storybrooke. It would be rather rude of me to call her while we are on our date, no?"

"Do whatever you want, b-… Gina."

"Are you having a hard time with speaking as well, dear?" Regina cracked a smile through teary eyes as she brought a hand up to wipe at her cheeks.

"I want to call you 'babe' or 'baby' for some weird reason. I dunno. I was never one to think that I would use pet names or anything and I don't think those really suit-"

"Use them if you wish, sweetheart." She chuckled, a husky and melodic sound that had expanded Emma's heart and brought a smile to her face.

_Yup. She could definitely listen to that laugh on repeat._

"Really?"

"I do not mind at all. I find it rather… sweet, and anything from you will make me smile regardless." She purred, leaning forward to press a kiss to Emma's cheek. "So, please do use those cute little pet names that you feel so inclined to say. I do not mind one bit, and I would rather like it. Just remember, though, when we are in class you may not call me 'baby'. You must-"

"Address you as Ms. Mills, yes, I've got it." Emma gave her a wry smile, but they had both ended up laughing regardless. "I've got it, _babe_."

Then she was snickering with a hand flapping uselessly in the air. Emma stare at the brunette with incredulous eyes, unable to comprehend what the hell was going on. Did Regina finally lose it?

"What the fuck, Gina?"

"You said 'I've got it, babe.'" Her words were several strangled gasps as she tried to stop the snickers, finally succeeding enough to speak.

"What's so funny about that?"

"I've got _you_, babe." The brunette finally muttered, a wide smile on her face.

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't get it."

Regina jutted out her bottom lip and gave Emma the most pitiful of looks before flipping the covers completely onto the blonde and slipping out of the bed. "Figures you wouldn't. You're too _young_."

"Hey! No age jokes! That's… that's… age-ist!"

"Age-ist, Emma?"

"Discriminatory!" The blonde corrected as she also clambered out of bed, following the brunette as she moved across the rather spacious bedroom bit of the hotel suite. "Anyways, what did you mean by what you said?"

"I've got you, babe. That's a song, a rather old one at that-"

"Oh!" Emma lightly slapped the older woman's tanned arm as the light bulb finally lit up in her head. "I know what you're talking about! Sonny and Cher, man, I love that song. Kinda. Eh. It's alright. I like Cher, I mean."

"You do?" Regina grinned and turned around, seizing both of Emma's hands. "I love her."

"I never took you as a Cher fan, Gina."

"Likewise," the brunette arched a brow. "I thought you were mostly into rock."

"I am, but the arsenal of music that I enjoy are quite contradictive to one another. It's strange, but so am I." Emma giggled as she was dragged into the bathroom. "Also, for my birthday, I got her new CD. Maybe we can listen to it sometime?"

"That sounds like a brilliant idea, darling." Regina smiled, turning around to place a kiss on the blonde's nose. "But right now, we need to bathe and set off. It's nearly eleven and that's the checkout time."

"Shit, right. And we still need to find out where the fuck Graham lives so we can visit him before we leave."

"Indeed, dear. So we must act fast and take a shower together to save time."

"Oh, kinky-"

Regina rolled her eyes and turned on the overhead shower, then gave Emma a gentle push towards the tub. After the blonde had gotten in, she did as well. "No funny business, alright? We don't want to get back too late."

"Okay…" The blonde muttered solemnly. Even though they had just finished a wonderful round of steamy love making, Emma wanted more. She wanted Regina's hands on her and she wanted to touch Regina. She loved the way the older woman's sun-kissed skin felt so soft underneath her fingertips, or the way her breasts felt like little sacks of everything fluffy… And not to forget the way she moaned and groaned when Emma touched her- that was climax-inducing itself. She was so beautiful, the blonde had noticed, when she had pure bliss on her features. She looked so relaxed and Emma was proud of herself for making the teacher react in the ways that she did. And it wasn't bad, either. The woman tasted damned good and Emma found herself already hungry for more.

Oh, god, what had Regina Mills done to her? She felt so goddamn insatiable and all she wanted was that goddamn sexy woman's hands on her. This shower was going to be rather long if there were to be no funny business, as Regina had said.

**…**

The funny business as Regina had said shouldn't be had was, for once, listened to. Emma hadn't tried to touch her or make any advance and the brunette didn't either. It made things much quicker, although, they were quite built up with sexual frustration- or at least Regina was.

She had virtually punished herself by applying the rule before climbing into the shower because she had nothing but an eyeful of blonde beauty, and a luscious ass that she could definitely have breakfast on. And, god, when Emma had turned around she was met with boobs. And boobs were all she was concentrated on until she managed to peel her eyes away to meet with emerald ones, then she had melted. Good thing she was in the shower, because she was quite sure she would be a puddle if she had looked any longer into her young lover's eyes.

It was quite cliché to say such a thing, but it was true. Regina couldn't believe it herself, upon gazing at the blonde as she nonchalantly wash those beautiful blonde locks, that she could feel something like this for someone. The things told in those romance novels were true. Her heart could just _squeeze_ in her chest and sometimes it hurt, but it felt so good. She could even feel a dopey smile form on her lips as she just _stare_ at the eighteen-year-old in front of her, who had her eyes closed and was trying to do what they were supposed to be doing and rinsing the soap from her hair.

So many times did Regina restrain from reaching out to touch Emma and run her fingers through her hair, or lathe up her body with the small bar of soap. Of course, it would have been innocent enough if they were to wash each other, but Regina knew that one touch and they would be having sex right there in the shower, because she just _could not_ keep her hands off the blonde- and Regina was quite sure Emma couldn't do the same, either. So she had to abstain from doing such a thing. They weren't supposed to fool around again. They didn't have the time and they needed to get the hell out of there before it got too late.

They had packed up everything and checked out just in the nick of time. It was literally 10:59 when the two had reached the front desk, both with damp hair and sheepish smiles. If the receptionist had noticed their condition, she sure as hell didn't say anything about it. Neither one had cared about their appearances for they were in a rush to get the hell out of Boston- or at least the Nine Zero for now, since they still needed to pay a visit to Graham.

Emma had a moment, after entering the car, with the paper with Graham's address in hand and her cellphone in the other. She had asked if Regina felt comfortable with going over to Graham's apartment, because she didn't have to if she didn't feel too uncomfortable with it. Regina had asked Emma about her friend's persistence upon them coming to visit him and what he would think if they were to not show up at all. That's when the blonde had revealed that it was Graham that had suggested that Regina needn't go over to his apartment, and that Emma didn't exactly mind if they were to just go straight home since he would be coming down in a couple of weeks- which would be just in time for winter break.

But, Regina being the courteous one, had decided that she didn't exactly mind if they were to go to Graham's apartment and visit for a while. Besides, the blonde was using him as her cover and why not visit him as the least they can do as a sort of payback. Anyways, Regina wouldn't mind thanking him, either, for allowing her to take Emma out on a real date. It was worth everything in the world for what had happened last night and even dipping into this morning. This trip to Boston had been a huge step in their relationship and everything from this point on will be much more serious for the both of them and quite life-changing as well. The road ahead was an unclear and long one, but it was sure as hell worth the ride.

Although, the road that they were currently on was absolute hell. There was traffic both left and right in abundance that was quite unpleasant. This would make their trip twice, or even three times, as long as it should be. And they were still quite lost. Graham had only given Emma the address to his apartment and Regina had told the blonde to ask her friend for directions. Of course, they hadn't known where they were at the time and that had taken at least another ten minutes to get the street address to where they were.

Finally, and luckily, Graham had been able to pinpoint their location and give them directions to his apartment. They had taken each turn and road each street that he had told them and that Emma had repeated to Regina every so often.

"And take a left, then we're there." Emma announced with a chipper tone, a wide smile on her face. "Fucking finally."

"Language, dear." Regina gave her a wry smile, reveling in the way Emma had made petulant face as a child would when they were scolded for using such language. The brunette had always enjoyed reprimanding the teenager when she used crass language- or any of her students for that matter- because it was so goddamn hilarious when they made a scoffing noise or that face that clearly represented the whole 'oh shit, she heard me' thing that had them almost apologizing at her feet. She quite enjoyed being the authoritative figure and having control over the younger population of the school- or at least her classes- most of the time because sometimes they could just be plain assholes and not listen, or insult the hell out of her thinking that she didn't know. Usually, she never took what they said to heart, it really wasn't a big deal. She remembered being in school and having teachers that she didn't like very well, so she could relate to them, like every other teacher could. And she wasn't the best teacher, she knew, or at least she wasn't as lenient as some of the teachers in the school and they don't like that about her. They should know that they can't get everything so easily, but apparently this generation thinks that they could just get things handed to them. Whatever that may be, she would never slacken her teachings, and they needed to be taught not to slack off and to try their best rather than give a half-assed job on their assignments. Perhaps continuing in the direction that she is taking, she could benefit greatly from it down the road- or just get fucked over in the end like everything else that she had in her life. Whatever it may be, she'll just stick to what she's used to and see where that takes her.

"We're here!" Emma grinned as they drove up the street that Graham's building was on and parked in front of it. Soon, the two of them got out of the vehicle and made their way up the path to the rather rundown apartment building.

Of course, Regina hadn't expected anything more than this, seeing as to how Graham was just a college student and she knew that his family wasn't exactly wealthy. He was lucky to have an apartment to himself, and Emma was lucky that she would be able to readily move into one as well once she had graduated from high school.

That thought, though, had Regina's heart sinking to the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to think about Emma graduating and leaving her behind in Storybrooke. Although, there really was no telling where their relationship would be at that point in time. If they were still going on strong, what would they do? Would they have a long distance relationship? Would Emma decide to stay in town? Or would the off-chance of Regina wanting to move to Boston with her arise? She honestly did not know and really didn't want to think of the future- especially if it had meant a drastic change in their relationship.

"What the fuck is that stench?" Regina heard the blonde beside her groan as soon as she opened the door to the apartment building. The brunette wrinkled her nose upon smelling the scent that Emma was referring to. She couldn't quite place what it was, but it was a rather rancid odor and she wished to escape it quickly. Hopefully Graham's apartment didn't smell this horribly or else she would get sick.

"I am unsure, but let us quickly get to your friend's apartment so we don't soon find out."

"Agreed…" Emma reached over and slipped her hand into the teacher's, earning a smile from the brunette, and led her towards the stairs. Soon enough, they arrived in front of a door with the numbers- or what was left of the numbers and what could be deciphered from the original paint- 208.

The blonde knocked on the door with three, sturdy raps and backed up, the grip she had on Regina's hand tightened ever so slightly as they waited. Regina, in return, had squeezed her hand back and smiled, moving to stand behind the blonde. Even though she said she was ready to come here and not feel any sort of discomfort, she still felt rather shy about meeting a new person- especially one so young and one that could be secretly judgmental of hers and Emma's relationship. Her thoughts and any sort of worry quickly dissipated as the slide of a lock sounded and the doorknob to the apartment opened up to reveal a rather handsome young man with a scruffy beard and kind eyes.

"It's about time that you showed up." Graham joked as the two stood outside his apartment door, Emma rolling her eyes at his statement. He had an accent, Regina noted as she eyed the man before her curiously. It sounded rather familiar. Had she had him in a class before?

"It's only one," The blonde playfully shoved his shoulder- obviously joking since it was rather late- as Regina stood behind with an awkward look on her face. She really didn't as comfortable as she thought she would coming here with Emma. The two were so familiar with each other and the brunette felt as if she were in high school again, being placed in a classroom full of people that had at least one friend with them as she sat alone, nose in book.

"Still, too late. I've been up since ten." He sniffed and stepped aside, allowing room for the two to enter. "Please, come in. I know it's not the tidiest, but it's a hell of a lot cleaner than that hallway."

"Yeah, it reeks out there. What the hell, man?" Emma wrinkled her nose before following behind her friend, Regina's hand in her own. As they entered the apartment and the door was closed behind them, Regina was relieved to find out that it did not, in fact, smell anything like the putrid hallway.

"I don't know, it's a shitty building." Graham shrugged, leading the two following behind him to the living room. "I didn't have enough money to get an apartment on the good side of town."

"I know. I'm just joking, Graham. Shit. I'll be living here soon anyways."

"Oh, you're still going to move up here?" He smirked and gave the brunette teacher behind Emma a look.

Regina, though, tried to avoid the young man's stare. It was bad enough that she recognized his face from one of the previous years. He had taken her English class his freshmen year. The boy's name didn't ring a bell at first, but now that she _knew_ who he was and what he looked and sounded like, it made things quite more problematic than she thought.

It was like gazing at the students in her classroom, knowing that she was coupling with one of the students within their age group. And she couldn't let them know nor find out. She couldn't let _anyone_ know, but here they were, virtually _flaunting_ their relationship in front of this boy.

The brunette teacher felt uncomfortable with this entire situation. Emma had given her an option upon whether or not she wanted to come, because she had said that despite Graham's persistence, he didn't want to make either one feel uncomfortable under the pressure of having to visit. Regina had said that it was fine, and that she hadn't minded visiting Graham at all. After all, how bad could it be? And she would be doing it for the girl that she loved- who also wanted so badly to see her best friend.

But now that she was here, Regina felt as if she were having second thoughts. Of course, she couldn't act upon them and just leave, Emma wouldn't appreciate that and they were already here, after all. She would just have to suffer through this quietly and hope she wouldn't be talked about. Perhaps the two would just try to catch up for the months that they have been apart.

"How long's it been since the last time we've seen each other?" Graham asked, gesturing the two to a rather ratty looking couch. Emma only smiled and plopped onto the surface as Regina was a bit more wary over the piece of furniture, inspecting it thoroughly before finding what appeared to be the cleanest spot next to the blonde, who had pulled her down almost immediately.

"It feels like it's been years." Emma answered, a humored tone to her voice at the brunette's reaction.

"Yeah, I know." He readily agreed. "Although, I'll be going back to Storybrooke to see everyone in a couple weeks. It'll feel weird, you know? It's been so long and it feels weird seeing you again."

"Oh, thanks."

"No, I don't' mean it like that. I just mean… I don't know. Everything seemed to have changed, you know? I'm a college man now and I have a good job- well, kinda shitty, but at least it's getting me this apartment. And you… well, you've got yourself a lady." He winked, his eyes momentarily shifting to their intertwined hands. "And she's a rather quiet one. Never used to be in class, though."

"I don't know what's gotten into her… or out of, since she doesn't seem all there." Emma joked, giving a squeeze to Regina's hand, which had the teacher snap out of the little daze she had put herself into to idly pass the time.

"What?"

"You're not talking."

"Oh." The brunette bit her lip, chocolate eyes moving over to the man sitting next to Emma. "I had assumed you two would like to catch up, so I had decided to stay quiet. I do not wish to intrude."

"You aren't, ma- Ms. Mills-"

"Regina," the older woman corrected. "You can call me Regina. After all, you are not in school any longer and I am Emma's… girlfriend."

"Sorry… Regina." Graham smiled anyways, despite the small error. "But it'd be nice to know what's going on in your classes, you know? Got any interesting… uh… What about- no… Anything interesting happening? Anymore asshole students?"

"Two, yes." The brunette shrugged. "They had decided to rile up a fight with Emma- and had ultimately lost."

"Yeah, I gave Jefferson the old decker." Emma smirked, rather proud of herself, as she held up her fist. "But the motherfucker got me back the next day. What an ass. But Gina was nice and gave me drugs for my black eye."

"That was because you were hurting, dear. I do not like to see you in pain." Regina quirked a brow. "After all, you stood up to those assholes for me and I do quite appreciate that. No one had ever done it before nor had they cared enough."

"Well, I like you, a lot, you know? I don't want to see _you_ hurt, even if it isn't physically." Emma turned her attention to the brunette, her loving, green eyes meeting with soft, chocolate ones.

"I love you, Emma." The smile on Regina's face reached her eyes, and beyond that if possible.d

"I love you, too, Gina."

"_Okay_, awkward." Graham coughed from beside the blonde and stared at the two of them, his brows quirked. "I did _not_ need to see my former teacher act all lovey dovey, it's really weird."

"Excuse me, but she's _mine_. She's not a teacher when she's with me. So, shove it, you butt." Emma nudged the man's arm.

"Yeah… but…"

"Well, if you two are going to bicker all night, I might as well get heading back to Storybrooke. I have tests to grade."

"You still haven't graded those?"

"I don't have all the time in the-"

"Can we not school talk, please?" Graham wore a smirk on his face and a devilish twinkle in his eye.

"Then why do you not discuss your… doings whilst being apart, hm? I'll just sit by and idly listen if you wish. I do not have to partake in your, should-be, private conversation." Regina shifted slightly, crossing one leg over the other, causing her skirt to hitch further up her thigh. She felt Emma's gaze on her stocking-ed legs and that had shot heat immediately to her core.

_Well, shit_.

Regina couldn't help the smirk that began to play on her lips nor the blush that had started to dust her already rouged cheeks a pretty shade of pink. She squeezed her legs together to ease the tingling sensation between them and guided her attention to the large, box TV on a dark, wooden entertainment center to take her mind off it.

Then the two began to talk, reminiscing about this past year and the summers that they had spent together playing video games. Regina had tuned them out, becoming rather disinterested in how many kills they got for one game, or how many points they had in another, or whatever the hell they were talking about with building things from a game with mines in it.

Then they proceeded to step away from the video game subject to going out to the movie theater to catch the latest flick before having a gaming night, or something of that ilk. Or that they went to some restaurant and ate together, which the two of them started to joke about them having dates because they often times hit a movie afterwards, then spent most of the night playing video games.

That had something burning in Regina's gut and constricting her heart. They had dates? Or at least that's what she had caught from that. She hadn't noticed that they were obviously joking, seeing as to how Emma was clearly into girls and Graham saw her as nothing but a friend. But there was a radar in Regina's brain that got set off over that subject and she saw _green_.

She couldn't fathom Emma being with someone else, especially a boy. She couldn't imagine her spending so much time with him. He probably knew her better than Regina did, and that really set something else off in the brunette. She really needed to spend more time with the blonde in order to get to know her more, even if some of the things that she had previously told her were things that she hadn't told anyone else. Regina wanted to make up for lost time and ensure that she knew everything that she needed to know about Emma and vice versa.

Then she heard her name being mentioned by Emma, which had caught her full attention. She was speaking of the first day of school and how she was absolutely terrified of going into Regina's classroom because of the rumors her friends had told her. But she was soon captivated by the brunette's beauty and all-around sexiness (why was she so goddamn blatant?) and definitely needed to stay. She couldn't help but to ogle her ass every time she turned around- and why Emma was explaining this in front of Regina to _Graham_, the teacher never knew. She took the blonde as a person who would conceal these feelings and keep them to herself, not go around flaunting them to others so freely.

Although, when she had started to speak of times further into the year and other bits of their relationship with each other throughout the course of the year, she had left quite a bit out. Regina was rather relieved that she hadn't expressed any of their private conversations nor any of the previous dates that they had (which really was only one) or meetings before they had even started to date.

Regina had ended up tuning them out once again, her eyes roving over the living area from the boredom she had found herself suffering from. They had started to talk about the months and days leading up to today, of course, most of it was vague and rather boring to Regina's ears. She didn't want to seem mean nor impolite, but she barely knew Graham and she had no interest in his life, and what Emma was telling him, she knew most of except for a few blurbs of her time spent with her other two friends.

Then, as if her prayers had been answered, Graham had spoken those words that she had been waiting for, for what seemed like hours. Of course, she hadn't exactly minded sitting here as Emma enjoyed a chat with her friend, but it was rather boring when they hadn't talked about anything that was interesting. She really was in no rush to return back home, for there was nothing exciting to do there, but she knew that Emma needed to be home, and with a quick glance at her watch, she found it to be around four.

"It's getting pretty late and I know how long it takes to get back."

"Yeah," Emma muttered forlornly. "Damn, I've missed you. It was nice talking to you again, though."

"You guys should come back and visit. Maybe we can do something more fun, because Regina looked as if she were about to fall asleep over there."

That comment had the brunette teacher blushing. So he had noticed that bored glaze in her eyes. She hadn't meant to let it show.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Gina. I didn't mean to make you feel so bored…" Emma frowned and brought the older woman's hand up to her lips to press a tender kiss to the top. "And if you don't mind, we could come back again and go out to do something fun. There's a lot more here than there is in Storybrooke, I know for sure."

"I would like that." Regina nodded and stood just as Graham had. She offered him a polite smile and extended a hand, in which his took. "It was quite lovely seeing you again, Graham. I do hope you have a safe time here, yes? And if you do not mind, we may come back and visit you once again."

"That sounds good to me, actually. It gets rather boring around here when there's no one to hang out with." He smiled and shook her hand. "And it was nice seeing you again, Ms.- Regina. I hope to see you again."

"Oh, I wouldn't doubt that you will, dear." She chuckled and wrapped her arm around Emma's waist. That would be true, even if they weren't to come down again. If Emma and herself were to continue their relationship, there was no doubt that she'd be seeing more of Graham and her other friends. She knew that she could get used to them, but that would more than likely be a few years down the road- if the two of them would even still be together.

"Great. Hey, Em!" He turned to the blonde. "Let me know if you two plan on coming down again. I'll even offer myself up as a cover for you."

"I'll make sure." Emma grinned, wrapping her free arm around the man in a quick, tight hug before pulling away. "Thanks again, though, for covering for my ass this weekend."

"Hey, no problem. What are friends for?"

"I would like to thank you as well, Graham. I appreciate that you have done this for us, even if it were just for Emma. It means a lot to me."

"Really, it's no problem. You're welcome and I'd gladly do it again, like I said. You two seem so perfect for each other." Graham turned towards the two of them, making sure to look at each for a few seconds. "I mean, the way you look at each other is just magical in itself. I haven't seen Emma this happy in the years that I've known her, and by the way she speaks of you, you make her really happy and I'm glad of that. Just don't hurt her, you know? She's had a tough enough life."

"Graham…" Emma groaned.

"I won't, Graham. I promise." Regina gazed down to the blonde, a smile of pure admiration on her lips. "We've both been to hell and back. I think we're meant to fix each other."

"You're getting goopy again," he joked. "I'll be having to clean the shit out of the apartment if you continue any longer."

"Oh, don't worry. We're leaving." Emma rolled her eyes and tugged on Regina's hand as she headed towards the door, Graham following behind the two.

"Well, fine. I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks, alright? Open up some time for me, Emma, 'kay?"

"I will, Graham." The blonde giggled. "Don't worry."

"Good." The three of them stood there in a slightly awkward silence for a few moments before he had spoken again, reaching for the door. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

"Yeah… Goodbye, Graham. I'll see you soon." Emma smiled rather sadly at her friend and Regina gave a slight grin.

"Goodbye, dear. Take care."

"Yeah, you too. And have a safe trip back."

"Thanks." They both chimed.

After saying their goodbyes, the two of them left the apartment building and rushed towards the parked car, trying their best to avoid the bitter wind nearly blowing them off the sidewalk. The weather had changed drastically from when they had first arrived. It was rather calm out then and promised good temperatures for the rest of the day, but that had been a rather large fib. It felt as if it were below zero and the wind was rather unpleasant. Luckily the car wasn't far and they would have a warm ride for the trip home.

"I hate winter," Emma mumbled as she put her seat belt on and Regina started the car, automatically going for the heater buttons.

"I do, as well. It dislike the cold."

"Me too. And after walking to your house in that goddamn blizzard, I really hate the snow, too."

"You're an idiot." Regina muttered fondly. "But, for some reason, I tolerate it."

"I'm glad you tolerate me."

"Are you ready to return home, dear?" Regina inquired after a few moments of silence on the road.

"Not really, but I know I have to." Emma groaned. "And there's school tomorrow, too, which sucks major ass."

"Tell me about it, dear. I have to get up even earlier than yourself in order to get things completed in the mornings." Regina lamented, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. "And it's a tedious job to grade tests, especially when they're written word."

"Oh, I bet that's a bitch." Emma nodded. "Hey, Gina?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think I could help you with it sometime?"

"Well, not tonight. It is rather late and I'm quite sure that your mother is worried about where you are."

"No, I know. I just mean sometime. Anytime. I wouldn't mind, just as long as I get to hang out with you." The blonde shrugged and played with her hair.

"We'll see, Emma."

"Cool," she grinned. "What are you doing tomorrow after school?"

"Well, if you are wondering if I will be grading papers, I will be. Would you like to join me?"

"Oh, well I was just going to use you as a ride home after detention, but sure!"

Regina couldn't help but to shake her head, an amused smile on her lips. "I can do both if you wish. I'll kill two birds with one stone."

"Aren't we a little violent?"

"It's a saying, dear."

"I know, but… God, can't you just humor me?"

"No." She murmured wryly.

"Sometimes you're a pain in my ass, Gina."

"Yes, well you can be a thorn in my side, Emma dear."

"Oh, hah-hah…" Emma whined playfully and crossed her arms. "I'm not gonna talk to you for the rest of the way there."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Y-…" The blonde suddenly stopped before nodded her head.

"Really, Emma? How childish of you."

Her only response was a shrug.

If Emma was truly being serious about not speaking for the rest of the way back, it was going to be a long trip, what with four hours still to go since they hadn't reached the highway quite yet.

"Are you really going to do this?" Regina had asked after several minutes. They were finally on the road back home.

Emma nodded once again, not making a single peep.

_Yes, this definitely is going to be a long trip_.


	15. Teacher's Pet

**A/N: Okay, holy shit. I'm a ho, I know. I lied. I hadn't expected to be bombarded with a bunch of stuff upon returning home, so I wasn't able to upload the chapter right away as planned. But now it's all hooked up and everything and I am so terribly sorry for giving you all false hope. :/ But I really hope that this makes up for it and I really hope that you enjoy this chapter. **

**I cannot cease to apologize enough. But, thank you all very much for reading and staying with me! I love you all and I enjoy your support. Have a good day and I hope you have happy reading times. **

* * *

"You can't stay silent for three more hours, Emma. Come on." Regina sighed from the driver's seat, stealing a quick glance towards the blonde who was adamantly remaining quiet with crossed arms.

It had already been an hour into their trip and she hadn't uttered a single word. She knew what she was doing was clearly childish, but the annoyed looks from the brunette and the grunts of irritation that she had made were just too damned entertaining to pass up- especially for this long trip. And she wasn't about to break now. She _would_ stay quiet for the remainder of three hours. There was absolutely _nothing_ that would make her dare to speak.

"Emma…" Her voice was a defeated sigh, which earned promise and a victorious smile- that was until Regina used her last resort. "I love you."

Now _that _was harsh and completely unfair. Emma didn't want to leave the older woman hanging with those three words thickening the air. She just couldn't bring herself to keep quiet, because every second that she went without repeating the words back burdened her with a heavy guilt.

"I love you, too…" she whispered. Perhaps if she had done it quiet enough, Regina wouldn't hear her and wouldn't think that she had responded and broken her little quiet game. But, they were in a car after all and the radio had been turned off- no doubt that Regina was waiting for some sort of peep from the blonde.

"A-ha! She speaks!" The Benz jerked as the brunette woman had spoken, which ultimately caused Emma to have a mini heart attack when all she saw was the off-road ahead of her. Luckily Regina had straightened them out before they flew off the road, but holy shit, that had scared the piss right out of her.

"Well, I won't any longer if you drive us off the fucking road!" Emma couldn't help but to reprimand, her heart still trying to come down from her throat. "Fuck."

"I'm sorry…" Regina whispered, her eyes glued to the road. The smile that she had worn upon Emma's reply beforehand had now disappeared into a downturn of the lips.

When the blonde had gazed over to see how the brunette was doing after taking the recovery from their near off-road adventure, she felt her heart fall from its spot. Regina wore the most heartbreaking look and appeared to be thoroughly chastised by Emma's reaction. Shit. Did she really just make Regina feel that bad by making that comment? She wished she could take it back and shut her goddamn mouth. Really, she needed to get this conflict fixed.

"Hey, Gina…" Emma reached over, her hand was gentle on the older woman's thigh. "Don't listen to me. I'm just a fucking idiot, you know this by now, yeah? Sometimes I don't have a filter."

"I am fine, Emma."

Emma narrowed her eyes at the brunette, but she hadn't taken a single glance towards the blonde. Nibbling on her lip, she gazed at the traffic around them, noticing there to be quite a few cars, but not enough to damper her new plan.

"Pull over," she quickly muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Pull over," the blonde repeated herself. Emerald eyes were back on the tanned and confused face of Regina's as the older woman reluctantly did what she had instructed.

"I don't know what inane reasoning you have-" But her words were cut off as Emma lunged forward and pressed her lips to her own, taking Regina by complete surprise- which had taken the woman a few heartbeats to register what was happening and a few more before she had responded.

When Emma had pulled away, she was met with puzzled chocolate orbs and red, parted lips.

"What was that for?"

"I wanted to make up for yelling at you. I'm sorry. I was just panicked and I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. That's the last thing that I would ever want. And I feel like we've said this a lot, but I love you and it just… rips my heart out when you look like that." Emma explained, her voice was hesitant and the hand that still reside on the brunette's thigh was even more so as it lightly stroke the stocking covered skin. "And I really suck at trying to comfort people."

"Please do not fret, my love." Regina rest her hand on the blonde's, stopping its movement. The contact had the hairs on the back of Emma's neck stand on end as pleasant shocks fueled them from her arm.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, Gina." She whispered. "I was terrified."

"I don't blame you, dear. I would be, too, if my life were on the line." The smile she wore was one that of understanding and her eyes were warm, melting into her cheeks as the corners of her mouth had upturned. "I forgive whatever unneeded apology that you are giving me just to sate your mind. We do need to get back on the road, especially if someone were to pull over or call another somebody because we are sitting on the side of the highway."

"Thanks. I'm glad you get me." The blonde offered her a sheepish smile and quickly wrapped her arms around the brunette, intending to pull back shortly after, but had found herself entranced by the older woman's sweet perfume and her comforting warmth.

"You'll have to let go, Emma." She heard Regina's deep voice rumble against her hair, arms constricting for one last time around her before releasing. "Come on."

"I don't want to. I like it down here."

"Oh, I know you do, dear." The teasing lilt to her voice sent shivers down Emma's spine. She bit her lip and kept from moving.

"I do, you see. So that means that you must let me stay down here, because I know you like it, too." That's when she smirked at the way Regina's cheeks had taken a lovely pink shade to them. "And maybe I can… do something for you?"

"That is…" Regina's voice trembled as she spoke, which had made it clearly evident that Emma had succeeded in flustering the brunette teacher. "That is inappropriate, dear, and how much that I would like for that to happen, it cannot. I need to concentrate whilst driving and you need to sit properly in your seat. I do not wish to get pulled over and delay our time home even further."

"Fine…" The blonde muttered, sitting up on her side of the bench seat once again, replacing the seat belt across her chest. "But you owe me cuddles when we get back."

"How about I take a rain check, dear?" The brunette pulled back onto the road, starting their journey home once again.

"You can't just-"

"I have to drop you off at your apartment. Hadn't you told your mother that we would be back rather early? It's already quite late now." Regina cut her off to elaborate.

Emma could only nod in agreement because she knew that it was true. She had told Mary Margaret that she would be back quite early in the day because she hadn't thought it would have taken them this long to leave town. She figured Regina would have an alarm of some sort to wake them up early so they would be able to dress and leave to visit Graham before they left- which Emma would have assumed would all be before noon. But, of course, they had woken much later than Emma had thought and they had busied themselves with each other after. And it hadn't helped that they were so far away from Graham's apartment with heavy traffic and no sense of direction.

"Speaking of which, you should contact her and tell her that you'll be arriving rather late. We still have about three hours left in the trip."

"Yeah, problem."

"Problem?"

Emma sucked her lower lip between her teeth and turned her attention to the scenery outside, her face resembling that of a cat who had gotten caught with their paw in the fish tank. "I sort of forgot my phone at home. I realized that when I went to text Mary Margaret yesterday before we got to the hotel."  
"Emma…" Regina spoke with an exasperated sigh. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Let me borrow your phone?"

"Just don't text her." The brunette sighed, using one hand to search for her purse on the floor between them. She soon found her mobile device and handed it to Emma.

"Why not?" The blonde quirked a brow, typing in her foster mother's cellphone number.

"Do you have a house phone?"

"Yeah?" Emma had now turned her full attention to the older woman.

"Does it have caller ID?"

"No. It's super old and we barely use it. Why?" she inquired again, her thumb hovering over the green call button.

"Mary Margaret has my number and I don't think it's a wise idea for you to call her from my cell phone to tell her that you'll be coming back from Boston in under three hours." Regina hastily explained, worried brown eyes on the blonde's hand that held the smartphone.

"Well, shit, why the hell do you have her number?"

"She had contacted me about… tutoring? Apparently I am tutoring you now. In Government."

"Oh, yeah…" Emma shrunk in her seat. "Well, I had to make up _some_ excuse as to why I was gone after school for a couple days and I couldn't have Ruby or Belle cover for me, so I thought this was the safest plan."

"I wish you would have told me, dear. I nearly denied it."

"Thank god that you hadn't."

"You better be thanking your lucky stars." The brunette's lips quirked up. "You need to call your house phone… And get off that screen. You're going to make me have a panic attack because I don't know how to explain my reason for calling her-"

"_Shit…_" Emma muttered.

"What? What shit? What shit, Emma? Don't tell me you-"

"I did…" The words were hollow coming out of the blonde's mouth, which had earned her a rather worried stare from Regina.

"You did not…"

"I-I did!" She wailed, putting the phone on speaker before throwing it towards Regina's direction.

"What the fuck am I going to say to her? _Oh god, it's ringing_." Regina's voice had raised a few octaves as her cellphone rang, the sound deafening in the silence of the car.

"Maybe she won't pick up?" Emma had thrown the phone on the seat between them in her own panic, not trusting herself with the device any longer. She knew she should have exited the screen as soon as Regina had started to ask her questions. But, no, her goddamn thumb had to act on its own accord and press that call button. Did she just _hate_ it when her fingers unconsciously move?

"But she'd still return the call…" Regina muttered numbly, and as soon as those words had left her lips, the ringing had ceased and a voice was heard.

"_Hello? Ms. Mills?"_

"Fuck…" Both Emma and Regina mumbled under their breaths, their hearts pounding wildly in their chests. Because, yeah, what the fuck was Regina going to say? How was she going to save her ass on this one?

"_Regina? Are you alright?"_

"Yes!" Her voice was nearly a squeak as it had escaped her lips. "I do apologize for disturbing you. I must have pressed the wrong number."

"_Oh! That's quite alright! I'm glad that you're alright. It happens all the time to me."_

Regina chuckled, and god, was that the most that Emma had ever seen her so tense and awkward.

"I'm glad that you understand. Again, I am sorry for disturbing you."

"_It's okay! I wasn't really doing anything. I'm just waiting for Emma to get back home. Did she tell you that she was going to see her friend in Boston?"_

"Oh, I do believe she had."

Emma blanched and shrunk further into her seat. Oh, god, now she was talking about her and going to Boston… and, shit, what was she going to tell Regina? Why the hell was she even making conversation with the brunette when clearly Regina had supposedly dialed the wrong number? But that was just like Mary Margaret. Emma loved her dearly as a mother, but boy, did she just get under her skin sometimes. Although, the ill thoughts of her foster mother had her feeling twice as guilty.

"_I'm a little worried, though. I mean, she went up there alone with him. It's not that I don't trust him, he's a good boy, but… I think they fancy each other. And she hadn't bothered to inform me of her arrival yesterday." _There was a pause, but it wasn't long enough for Regina to come up with a response. "_I had called her only to realize she left her phone here, though. What a silly girl. I love her. And, oh! Am I sorry for rambling! I'm just so anxious for her arrival, I'm nothing but a bundle of nerves! You said you pressed the wrong number, so I'm sure you're meaning to do something."_

"I am, actually. And do not apologize. I understand your concern. I'm sure that Emma is doing quite fine. She's a brilliant girl, and I have confidence that she knows better than to disobey anything that you might have said."

"_I know. You're right. But it still worries me that she's up there all alone… well, perhaps not, but she's- An-and she hadn't bothered to call or text me."_

"She's a young girl in Boston, and without any parental supervision. I'm sure that it must have slipped her mind to ask her friend for his phone if she had realized hers was gone. Just give her your trust and I'm sure everything will be just fine." The brunette soothed.

"_You're right. I will. But I hope she'll be here soon._"

"I'm sure she will be, Mary Margaret." Regina clipped, keeping her tone to the point.

"_Right! I'm sorry, I ought to let you go. But, since you're here… I want to ask you something._"

"What is it?"

"_Will you be tutoring Emma tomorrow afternoon?_"

"Only if that is alright with you, and Emma herself, of course."

"_Oh, it's fine! I just wanted to know if I should save her a plate for dinner or wait for her, since she still has her detention."_

"Of course."

"_I suppose I should let you go. I'm sure you have things to do. I will see you at conferences!"_

"Yes. I will see you then, dear. Do have a good night and I hope that your Emma will arrive safely home soon enough."

"_Thank you, Regina. You have a good night yourself!"_

"Thank you, and goodbye."

"_Buh-bye!" _

And then the line cut.

"Please do not make me go through that again." The brunette teacher took her phone with sweaty fingers and exited out of the call.

"I'm _so_ sorry… I really am." Emma was quick to apologize, her fingers knitting into blonde curls. "I-I'll definitely make it up to you, I promise."

"You better, my dear." Regina husked, and when the blonde had lifted her gaze with surprise to the brunette's face, she saw a devilish twinkle in brown orbs.

"Tomorrow. I will. Trust me." Emma concluded, her confidence regaining in her words as she spoke them.

There was that smile again on her lips. "I do trust you, dear."

"Well, then, it's a plan. Locked in place."

"Locked in place, indeed." Regina echoed. "Why don't you call your house phone and inform your mother, alright? I assume that she is home, since she had said she was waiting for you."  
"Yeah. Let's just hope our phone didn't magically get caller ID or anything." The blonde mumbled, half to herself, as she retrieved the English teacher's cellphone and dialed in her home phone number. She was rather surprised that she had memorized the damn thing. They rarely had ever used it and she had so many other numbers in her lifetime, it was insane. But she had this one down, especially after the two hour lecture from Mary Margaret in case of an emergency of some sort.

"Let us hope not, because I do not think I can bear another conversation with your ever chipper mother. She's a nice woman, but she talks a little too much. No offense, dear." Regina kept one eye on the blonde, and she had noticed, for every time she had looked up, she saw the teacher's gaze on her- and what she was holding within it, more specifically.

"None taken, really. I know what you mean." Emma shrugged. It was true, really, and she knew that Regina had meant no harm in her words. Now, if it were someone else insulting Mary Margaret like that, and without a courteous apology, she would be wailing them to the ground. She really did love her foster parents and would defend them, if needed, and keep their honor set high.

"I probably shouldn't be saying such a thing, though. It is quite unprofessional, after all." The brunette mended quickly. "Don't get me wrong, I like her- to an extent."

Emma quickly finished typing in her home phone number and set the device on her lap, careful not to call it just yet. "I get it, Gina. It's alright. There are people in life that we meet and that we don't really get along well with. I sorta felt the same when I first met her, and sometimes I still do. She's a little too optimistic for her own good."

"As long as you won't hate me for saying such a thing."

"You're an exception, Gina."

"Well, I am certainly glad to hear that." Emma could literally _hear_ the smile in Regina's voice as she had spoken. It squeezed her heart knowing that she could make the older woman smile the way she did.

"Now, I gotta call her…"

"I'll stay quiet, dear."

"Thanks." Emma grinned and quickly leaned forward to press a kiss to the brunette's olive cheek, then proceeded to call the number still displayed on the screen after straightening out in her seat.

…

It had taken three hours before their arrival back to Storybrooke, just as Emma had promised her foster mother when she had called her that time ago. When they had crossed the town line, reality had hit the blonde like an elbow to the face. Her weekend trip with Regina was nothing but that and upon their return, they were back to where they were. They were teacher and student and their relationship had to be, once again, hidden from everyone.

That thought had Emma's heart sinking in her chest. She wanted to go back to Boston just so she wouldn't have to hide her relationship- her feelings- her _love_- of this woman from everyone. Here, people would judge- mainly because they knew who each was. Regina could ultimately lose her job if the secret had ever gotten out and Emma… Well, she would lose the only true _joy_ that she had had if that were to happen. It was a lose-lose situation either way.

Of course, there was graduation day. The day that they _could_ announce their relationship to everyone. Although, that still might not be the wisest of ideas for they would have been dating before she had departed from high school, and that would be proven if they were to announce it the same night. So, even after she had graduated, their relationship would still have to be kept under the table. Perhaps not from her two very best friends, but her mother and father could never know unless it were to be long down the road.

All in all, the two of them were ultimately fucked with their relationship. They would have to move in order to keep it stable and actually go into public without risk of job-losing or a ruined reputation. Emma wouldn't want that for Regina. The woman already had a hard enough life and doing so would only make it much worse.  
They would have to sit down at some point and discuss this, for that future was not too far ahead. Emma had quite fallen in love with the bits of Boston she had seen and wouldn't mind proceeding with her move up there for college. But that had meant leaving Regina behind unless the brunette had decided to follow her up. Of course, they would only be four hours apart, which would be a hell of a lot better than any other further distances. This meant that Emma, or Regina even, could visit on weekends and any major breaks. But the thought of that still sent Emma's heart sinking. She didn't want to live that far away from the brunette teacher. She wanted to stay close to her and see her every day. But if she were to do that, it would be a four or five hour commute to her classes, and that didn't sound appealing nor possible.

The conflicted thoughts just terrified the blonde to no extent. She really didn't want to think about these things, but she knew that they needed to be addressed at some point and they needed to be cleared up. Emma just didn't want to think about this alone. She couldn't. She needed Regina's opinion and thoughts upon the subject, and she needed them soon since the time was coming rather close.

"Emma, dear, we're here." The older woman's husky voice ripped Emma from her thoughts. She whipped her head up to take a glance outside to see that they were, in fact, outside her apartment. It was rather dark out tonight. The streetlamp wasn't working again, which was rather fortunate for them since she could see Mary Margaret's silhouette in the loft window.

"Yeah…" Emma muttered solemnly. "I should probably get inside before she comes out here, and knowing Mary Margaret, she probably will."

"I suppose you must." The brunette's voice had taken a similar tone and there was a flash of something cross over her features before quickly disappearing when she offered a tight smile. "I shall see you tomorrow?"

"Yup! Same time, same place." Emma let a grin rip across her face as she unbuckled the seatbelt and leaned over to give Regina a tight hug. She nearly melted against the teacher's body when she felt those warm arms embrace her in return. "And I'll bring you something special for lunch- to make up for that little talk with my mother."

"I cannot wait to see what it is, dear." The brunette smirked, pulling away from the blonde teenager. "Now, you must hurry. She's no longer standing by the window."

"Oh, shit!" Emma quickly gathered her backpack and opened the passenger's door in a haste to get out. "Better not wait long enough for her to say hello to 'Graham.'"

"Indeed," she chuckled. "So I shall see you tomorrow. Have a good night, Emma."

"I will, thank you. You, too, you hear?" The blonde twisted her body to give Regina one last smile before sliding out of the vehicle. Her hand was on the door, ready to slam it shut, when she heard a voice from inside.

"And, Emma?"

"Yeah?" She ducked her head down to peek inside the car.

"I love you."

And that's when every fear and burdensome thought that she had melt away to replace with the events of the past weekend and the entire reality of it. Those three words have confirmed the doings of this weekend and every word, gesture, and moment of it, and that it had naught been a dream. A dream that Emma had usually found herself waking up from almost every morning. Did she certainly hope that she wouldn't be waking up from this dream, because she wouldn't want to let go of what she and Regina had created for themselves.

"I love you, too," she whispered breathlessly, the largest smile on her face. She swore she could hear Regina purr at the words.

"Good. Think of me tonight, will you? Think of our… time together, because I know I will."

"Oh, I probably won't be able to sleep I'll be thinking of it too much." Emma's cheeks burned. "Think of me, and think of that thing I slipped into your purse on our way back. I hope you like it."

"What?"

"Wait until you get home." The blonde giggled as the brunette had started to pick her bag up. "I want you to see it when I'm not here and you can thank me tomorrow during lunch. But for now, I gotta go because I'm scared my foster mother'll be down here."

"Yes. You are correct. Have a good night, darling."

"For the twentieth time…" she mumbled, but forced a smile on her lips when Regina gave her a quirked brow. "_You_ have a good night. AndI'mclosingthisdoorbeforeyoucansayanythingelsetoprolongmystayingouthere." Emma quickly shut the door and whipped around to head towards her apartment, only to run into her foster mother who had just opened the outside door as Regina pulled off.

"Is Graham not going to stay?"

"He wants to get back before midnight. He has a class tomorrow." Emma shrugged nonchalantly. Now, _that_, she had planned in case Mary Margaret were to ask about her friend.

"Oh. That's a shame. I wished he would have stuck around long enough so I could say hi to him." Mary Margaret wore a slight pout, but it had quickly disappeared as the two had begun to walk inside. "So, how was your trip? You should tell me all about it!"

Emma internally groaned as she followed her mother up the stairs and into their apartment where an awaiting David stood in the kitchen.

"Emma! It's good to see you back!" He greeted with a kind smile. "We've missed you!"

"I've missed you both, too-"

"Emma was just going to tell us about her trip!" Mary Margaret interrupted, guiding her blonde daughter over to the living room. David had pushed himself away from the counter to follow, both wearing large, anxious smiles.

"Oh, was she now?" Emma's foster father grinned, perching on the couch next to his wife. The blonde, herself, took the chair next to it.

"Yeah, I guess."

"So tell us, what did you do?" Mary Margaret chirped happily.

Emma ran her fingers through her hair, trying to hold back any of the guilt that she had been feeling since she had first lied to her parents about Boston. At least she could replace 'Regina' with 'Graham' when she spoke of what they had done. The only thing she really needed to leave out was the hotel bit and going to visit the actual Graham. But then, by doing so, it appeared that her mini vacation was rather boring since all Regina and her had actually done was go to see a show and eat dinner.

_And make love in their hotel room_.

Yeah, she would promptly avoid telling her parents of that. Especially if they thought it were Graham. Would they have a cow? Hell, they'd probably have a whole herd of cows and then some. Maybe they'd even shit enough bricks to build a barn.

"Did you buy a new perfume?" David had leaned forward with a curious gaze, his nostrils flaring.

"David! I asked her a question first." His wife gave a slight whine, but she had also bent towards the blonde to give her a whiff. Her brows furrowed. "But, _did_ you buy new perfume?"

_No. No I didn't. That's Regina's perfume that you're smelling that had somehow infused itself into my clothing after spending four hours in the car with her_.

"Yes and no. Graham gave it to me as a birthday gift."

"Well, that certainly was nice of him." Mary Margaret grinned, elbow bumping her husband. "Wasn't it, David?"

"Yeah…" he mumbled.

"Now, I hope you two didn't do anything you weren't supposed to…"

"Mom!" The blonde groaned and wiped her face with her hands. Of course she would ask that, and at least Emma could answer her honestly, because the question orbited around Graham. No, she did not sleep with him, and no, they were still not dating.

"What? It's a serious question to ask."

"No. Graham and I are literally just friends. There's nothing going on between us. I just really wish you would stop asking. It's starting to even freak him out and he has a girlfriend, I think. Or a boyfriend. Someone that isn't me!" Emma lay limp in her chair. She had literally lost count on how many times that Mary Margaret alone had questioned her about Graham. David had only asked once and merely nodded when she said nothing was going on between them, and now he always just sits there with a mental eye roll every time his wife asks. The blonde just hoped that she would be able to convince Mary Margaret enough to finally drop the subject. Perhaps saying that Graham had a significant other would seal the door. She heard him, at one point, mention that he had met someone, so she wasn't exactly lying to them. And she hadn't caught the name of said person, either. He had been more interested in her relationship with Regina.

"You don't know?" Mary Margaret quirked a suspicious brow.

"No. He said something about it, but we were talking about other stuff after that and I forgot. Now can we just drop it? There's nothing between us."

"Well, I thought… since you would be moving in with him…"

"I thought the only reason you let me go on this trip was because we were just friends?" Emma dropped her hands onto her lap, avoiding the meticulous stare given to her by David when he next spoke.

"We did. At least, I had. Your mother had been fretting all weekend over the fact. She had even told your teacher she was worried about you two." He husked, bringing a hand up to stroke his wife's back when she had begun to deny what he had just said.

"What do you mean? Why would she talk to one of my teachers about it?"

"Your English teacher, Ms. Mills, she called here- by accident- and I may have said some things. It was earlier today, really, it was before you had called. Strange, is it?"

"Yeah…" The blonde bit her lip as memories of that conversation had relived in her head. She remembered nearly every word of it and the stiff, panicked way that Regina had responded to the babbling Mary Margaret on the other line. But she couldn't let her mother know that she had listened to the entire conversation and knew what had been said.

"What did you-… What did you tell her?" The blonde asked quietly. She was curious as to what her foster mother would come up with if she weren't to tell the entire truth of the conversation.

"That I was just worried about you being in Boston all by yourself. She seemed to be quick to defend your actions, though. But I assume she's a mother, also, and maybe more experienced. She's older than me, after all." The pixie-haired woman quickly elaborated.

And her words had struck Emma, causing her heart to stammer in her chest. That was true. Reality had, once again, bitch slapped her in the face. Her teacher, her _girlfriend_, was older than her foster mother and by almost ten years. Mary Margaret and David were twenty-eight and thirty, respectively, and that had brought a whole new terror to the blonde. What would they even say if they had ever found out about their relationship? Regina was nearing forty while Emma would be just starting her life.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret's hand found itself on Emma's knee and the blonde jumped slightly, her emerald orbs immediately darting to her brunette mother. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. I was just thinking." Emma stuttered, rapidly trying to erase all burdening thoughts so she could think more clearly. She needn't have these age and relationship conflicts floating around in her head and accidently spill one of her many worries to her unsuspecting mother. That would be one hell of a shitstorm.

"Did you hear what I said?" She asked, tilting her head with brows creased in concern.

"I did. Yeah. And she doesn't have any kids, but she's like a big mom when people are actually nice to her." Emma's voice was nothing but a sigh.

Saying that had brought her back to one of her previous conversations with Regina. The teacher had said something about wanting children, but had wanted to find the right woman beforehand. Emma was assuming she had acted somewhat of a mother for that reason, and she had gone so many years yearning to be one but never able to achieve her goal. She hoped that Regina would be able to become a mother someday, and if they were still together when that so happened to occur, she wouldn't mind so much. It would be a sweet thing to raise a child with the woman that she loved- and hopefully would still love to no extent whatsoever in the future. _That_ future sounded rather terrifying as well since she was naught but a child herself and whatever reality that might be would take quite a while to get to. The two of them still needed to sit down and discuss their plans for the future.

How she was getting her mind off track once again, Emma never knew. One moment she was telling Mary Margaret how mother-like Regina was even though she wasn't one herself, to thinking about raising their own kid together! Her mind was on the highway to insanity just about now, hitting every goddamn inane obstacle that it could on the way.

"Oh. I thought she would be married by now or something. But I guess that I believe everyone should be married by my age since I am, myself." The small brunette shrugged and offered Emma a rather sheepish smile. "I hope she finds a nice man, if she hadn't already. She's a really nice woman. I just hope, as I've heard you tell me, that her reputation with the students in the school won't ruin her image."

"She's attractive. She won't have any problems." Emma found herself saying, but immediately wanting to slap herself afterwards. Did she really just say that?

But, luckily, Mary Margaret had thought nothing of it and readily agreed. "She is. Any man would be lucky to have her."

_Yeah, but she wouldn't want any man._

"I'm sure." Emma muttered, hoping that Mary Margaret would soon drop the subject. She really didn't like lying nor pretending anything to her foster mother, and if they continued on about how Regina would be suitable with _any_ bachelor in town, well, she might as well shoot herself.

"Anyways!" The pixie-haired woman suddenly said, jolting David upright in his spot. "How was your trip? What did you guys do?"

"I can honestly say that I enjoyed every minute of my trip." Emma smiled tentatively. "We went to the Paramount to watch a show and ate at the restaurant next to it. But that had its own entertainment."

"How so?" David queried before his wife could ask.

"There was a problem with two tables there. Two separate parties, I mean." The blonde began. Since she honestly hadn't anything else to tell them that she wanted them to know, she might as well satisfy them with hers and Regina's little problem at Salvatore's with the couple. Also, that would be a great way to know how her parents would react to same-sex couples since she, herself, was right up that alley.

"What happened?" That was Mary Margaret this time.

"Well, there were these gay women just minding their own business and eating, you know, like everyone else. But there was this couple next to them, I think in their middle-ages. A man and a woman. I'm not exactly sure what the women were saying, but the man made a remark and he just wouldn't stop insulting their way of life. The chicks were actually handling it calmly for the most part. Then the manager came over." Emma told the story, leaving it rather vague so she wouldn't have any difficult questions to answer from the two.

"Oh, my!" The brunette gasped, David frowning in response. "What did the manager say?"

"Well, the middle-aged couple said that there was a problem and it was the two women and their lifestyle and that they should be kicked out of the restaurant for disrupting their meal. The manager, I think, asked the women what was wrong and they just told it how it went."

"Did those assholes get thrown out?" David's gruff voice finally spoke beside Mary Margaret.

"Yeah! They were really nice to the women and I heard that they got their meals for free." Emma concluded, a smile on her face. David seemed to be satisfied with that, but his wife looked rather indifferent. This, of course, had Emma worried. What did she really think about all this? And what would she do if she knew that it were Emma and Regina that suffered this problem, not just a fictional couple that she had witnessed from afar?

"Well, that's very nice of them, indeed. I'm glad that they put those rude people in their place." Mary Margaret finally spoke and Emma could have wept. "I'm glad that there are still decent human beings on this earth."

"Me too. I probably would have kicked someone's ass if they would have kicked those women out. I mean, it's wrong to judge people for liking a certain gender, right?" Emma shrugged, leaning back in her seat with her backpack perched rather uncomfortably on her lap.

"You're correct, sweetheart." The pixie-haired brunette agreed, giving her daughter a look of concern. "Are you alright, dear?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm just tired and cramped up from sitting in the car for more than four hours." The blonde shrugged.

"Why don't you go upstairs and rest, okay?" David suggested. "You have school tomorrow and we don't want you to be too exhausted."

"Yeah, because that's a shame." Emma muttered underneath her breath, preparing herself to get up. Both her parents stood as well, each giving her a hug and a kiss on the forehead, just as her phone buzzed for an incoming message. Emma's emerald orbs widened for a moment, wondering how the hell they could hear it from all the way upstairs. That was, until, she had found the small device sitting on the coffee table. Her foster parents had ignored it, as did she. She'd just check the damned thing when she got upstairs.

"Listen to your father, honey. You look tired." Mary Margaret gave her a soft smile before kissing her on the forehead once again. Her phone buzzed. Twice. "Have a good night's sleep and we'll see you tomorrow, okay? And don't let that phone keep you up all hours of the night…"

"It won't, mom."

"Alright… Um, would you like for me to pick you up after your tutoring session? I heard that it is going to be rather chilly tomorrow and the wind will be picking up."

"Uh, I can walk home, or else Ms. Mills can give me a ride if it's too cold. I'll be fine."

"If you're sure, dear."

"I am. Don't worry." The blonde shrugged and, once again, her phone went off.

"You should answer that before it-" And another buzz had cut David's sentence off, ending with an irritated grunt from her father.

"Yeah…" The blonde mumbled, picking her phone up off the table. She wondered who the hell could be texting her so urgently like that. Maybe Ruby or Belle caught wind of her arrival back in town and had decided to pester her about the trip.

Shrugging those thoughts away, she quickly unlocked the screen and clicked on her messages to see that they were from several smiley faces.

Regina.

What the hell was she messaging her like this for?

_What the hell is this, Emma?_

_Emma?_

_EMMMMAAAAA! BAAAAAABBBBYYYY_

_I do apologize for that. _

_Sweetheart? Am I just being an idiot? Do you not have your phone? I am going to call you._

Then her phone buzzed, and wouldn't stop, as the incoming call screen popped up with the smiley faces as the title and a crown as the picture.

Now she was calling. Shit.

Emma quickly answered, grunting into the phone.

"Yeah?"

"_What the fuck is this, Emma?"_ Regina's voice frantically inquired, and quite loudly as well.

"What is what?"

"_This… that you gave me."_

Oh. Shit. Regina found the gift that she had left for her in the purse. And with the brunette teacher's response towards it, that had made Emma immediately regret ever sticking the damned thing in there.

"I can't talk about it right now." Emma quietly muttered, turning away from her foster parents who had glued their eyes expectantly on her. "I'll… I'll explain at lunch tomorrow."

"_Fine. But… I've got another present for you, then." _Regina's voice was soft, tentative even, as she spoke those words. Whatever the hell she had planned now had Emma's stomach doing flips.

"You do?"

"_Yes. You'll see tomorrow afternoon when I take you home with me."_

"I can't wait." Emma tried to hide her smirk.

"_Until then, since I hear that you're in a sort of predicament at the moment, I shall see you tomorrow, love. I love you."_

"I… I love you, too." She whispered quickly, trying not to let her foster parents hear. But, of course, she was quite sure that they had. Emma could always lie and say it was Ruby or Belle calling her.

"_I'm glad. Have a goodnight, alright?"_

"You too. Bye…"

"_Goodbye, darling_." And the line cut off.

"Who was that?" Mary Margaret quirked a brow, taking a step towards her rather flustered daughter.

"It was Belle. She was calling to see how I was. She must have seen us pull into town or something."

"Oh. I hope that she's doing well."

"Yeah."

Satisfied, her mother nodded and gave Emma a hug once more. "Why don't you run off to bed, alright? You need your rest. We can talk more tomorrow after you return home."

"Alright." Emma mumbled agreeably as she slowly inched her way towards the stairs. "Goodnight, guys."

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, honey."

It wasn't long before Emma was up the stairs and stripped to her undergarments and hidden underneath the sheets of her bed. She wasn't exactly as tired as she had claimed to be, but she could do with the extra sleep. And who only knows what Regina had in store for her tomorrow. Another present, she had said. But what if it wasn't exactly something _good_. After all, Emma had given Regina _that_.

But tomorrow could only give Emma the answers and she needed to fall asleep and rid of these constant wonders, or else she would never get to sleep. So she lay back, a pillow tucked safely in her arms, and tried to relax with a mind cleansed of thought.

* * *

For the life of her, she could just _not_ take her eyes off that woman. The way she glided elegantly across the room in her black pumps to the way her hips swayed from side to side as she moved down the aisle, her perfect raven hair bouncing with each step. Emma took every opportunity that she had to keep her eyes glued to the English teacher, not wasting a single second.

All she could think about while watching the brunette was that night in Boston. And by thinking about that night, she could imagine Regina wearing nothing but what she was born in and the noises that she had made when Emma touched her in the right places. Just so much as thinking about that made the blonde hot and bothered, and she could tell that she was having the same effect on the brunette herself.

Emma hadn't been quite sure at first, merely passing off the rosy cheeks or the awkward way she had tucked a piece of hair behind her ear for something else, but then she had _stuttered_. And Regina Mills _never_ stuttered during class.

Regina had started in the front of the classroom, her body leaning against the podium to relieve the pressure on her feet from the heels. There was a PowerPoint presentation displayed on the Smartboard as she read from it the notes they were to be taking for the chapter.

"I do recommend that you take these notes and wisely. You never know what will be on the test, and it's…" Then she had trailed off, her jaw slack as chocolate orbs met with Emma's emerald ones. Her entire face had instantly turned a lovely shade of pink, and even more so as she had tried to complete her thought, and coherently at that. "It's… uh… it's very important to know this information when you do an assignment. It's the key to success, please keep that in mind."

The students had definitely noticed the blip in her speech, and they had even more so expressed their thoughts to one another. Of course, it was 'quietly' and in their tone of 'whisper' to make sure that the teacher hadn't heard. Emma amusingly caught parts of the conversational theories going on around her, but more or less chose to ignore most comments. But, soon, the collective whispering had turned into a soft buzz about the classroom that had the brunette teacher attempting to speak over the ever growing conversation.

"_Silence!_" But that hadn't seemed to phase them, or at least they just hadn't heard Ms. Mills' voice over their own. Emma kept her eyes on Regina as she walked towards her desk, a hand pressed against her forehead. That had the blonde frowning. Did she have a headache? She always seemed to have one by lunchtime. She suspected it to be due to the students' constant talking. Emma knew that she always gained one by the end of the day. They were relentless.

"Hey, are you gonna be alright?" Emma murmured to the brunette who had popped the lid off her pill bottle now and threw back a couple capsules.

"I have a migraine." Regina replied, leaning against her desk as she faced Emma. "I believe I just have one constant migraine that just never goes away and that worsens each class period."

"Damn…"

"Damn is correct and it's only getting worse." She whispered, her eyes clouding with moisture. "I just wish that they would _shut the fuck up!_" Regina's words were much louder this time, extending to the entire classroom. Her distressed voice had everyone at a standstill and Regina with wide eyes for the salty language that she had let slip.

Emma had a strong urge to take the older woman into her arms just then. She looked as if she were about to burst into tears at any given moment. But she knew that she couldn't until it was lunchtime. Hopefully, everyone would opt to remain quiet for now on. They had pushed Ms. Mills to her absolute limit and Emma knew how terrible migraines could get, and how irritable they could make someone if they weren't able to rest.

"Thank you," she muttered, retaking her place back at the front of the room. "I would appreciate it if you would so kindly keep the noise level down. We do not have much time until the end of the semester and we need to finish the last chapters before the times arrives. These items _will_ be on the finals."

When silence was met in reply, she gave a slight nod.

"Is everyone finished with this slide?"

No one had protested when she tapped the bored for the next slide of notes to show up. The remainder of the class had progressively gotten better and had seemed to pass by quite quickly, which had Emma thanking whatever higher deity.

As soon as the last student had left the room and the door had clicked shut, Emma popped out of her seat and gave Regina- who had been standing by her desk now- a tight squeeze.

"I've been waiting to do that all period." She muttered, a sheepish smile on her face. "It looked like you really needed one, babe."

"I did, thank you, darling." Regina's visage melted into something sweet as she returned the hug with a snug grip. "Can I have a kiss to make me feel better?"

"Of course." Emma purred, pulling slightly back to give the brunette woman a smile. Regina had the same look on her face and appeared to be much more at ease than she had been the hour prior, but there was still a spark of something in her eyes that indicated that the migraine still wasn't gone.

"Thank you," she whispered, her lips ghosting slightly over Emma's own before fully pressing against them in a slow, tender kiss. The blonde had eagerly responded, her eyes slipping shut as she let the tingles course through her body and take over every sense, a soft moan escaping her lips.

As they breathlessly pulled away, tongues licking lips, Emma couldn't help the heat burning her cheeks, painting them a rosy pink. "You're welcome."

Regina chuckled richly, pulling the blonde tighter against her body in another embrace. They stay like that for a few moments, the brunette humming a soft, sweet tune into Emma's ear before finally whispering.

"I really, truly love you, Emma, and I hope that my feelings towards you won't scare you away. I do understand if they do and you do not-"

Emma had now quirked a brow at the brunette's inane rambling, a slow smirk creeping on her face. She was still voicing her insecurities. Of course, Emma could understand that. They hadn't exactly been dating for long and they just recently expressed their feelings for one another. But the blonde was true to her word when she said that she wouldn't leave Regina in the dust like that. Sure, the feelings towards her had scared the teenager to death, but her own feelings towards Regina had her even more so.

Though, she didn't want to give into her fears. She had always done that in the past and she had always lost out on opportunities that could have ultimately made her life much better. But this time she knew, she _knew_, exactly what she would be missing out on and this something was one of the most important things that another could have in their lives. It was love and love was quite rare to find, especially when it felt like it was meant to be. It felt so _right_.

Regina was that something, that _someone_, that she couldn't let slip through her fingers. And she was a somebody that had feelings just like she, and ones that would get absolutely destroyed if she were to chicken out like she always had. She had to keep strong for the both of them and hope that it would work. So far it was. And she knew that by the future scenarios that she was mapping out in her head. Even her other fears had never had any sense of future within them. She normally bailed before thinking about how they might affect her future.

So she was going to take her fears and make them her bitch. She didn't want them to take over and taint her mind like they seemed to be doing to Regina. Emma knew that there would be quite a bit of work to be done in the future to put the two of them at ease, but for now, they must take things one step at a time.  
And so Emma had started by silencing Regina with a quick peck on the lips.

"Regina," she whispered calmly, finding the older woman's hand to lace their fingers together. "I won't walk away from this, Gina. Please, trust me on this. I _am_ scared shitless of your feelings towards me and of my own towards you. I'm quite sure we feel mutually towards each other, because I… I can't even describe in words how you make me feel. I really can't and that terrifies me. There's always a way… there's always a _word_ to describe something, but I just cannot find it. When I think of one, it is not suitable enough…" The blonde tried to keep herself from spewing more vocal diarrhea and immediately cut herself off to continue on. "Anyways… I'm scared and I'm quite sure that you are. But we shouldn't really question our feelings right now. We should worry about our demons, or the fears that haunt our thoughts. We must drag them into the light and make them our goddamn bitch."  
"I know, dear… I just have too many worries and fears going through my mind right now and I am utterly stressed out. It is no wonder that I have this terrible migraine. I just cannot keep my mind off anything, and most of everything that pops into my brain is you." Regina pulled away from the blonde to sink into her rolling chair, although tried her best to keep their hands together.

"Then I'll help you relax in any way that I can. How about a neck massage or something?" Emma suggested, her free hand's fingers skittering lightly across Regina's exposed upper back before disappearing underneath raven locks to continue up the nape of her neck. "And perhaps a cold, damp paper towel will help ease the pain. I can turn the lights off in here on my way back in."

"Emma, you don't-"

"Yes I do. I love you and it is my job to take care of you, is it not? You have done the same for me, although in a different way. Just let me do this, okay? You still have two periods left and your head will only get worse." The blonde shook her hand from Regina's to quickly guide her feet towards the door before the brunette woman could protest. "I'll be back, then we can eat."

And with that, Emma had scurried out of the room as fast as she could to avoid any protesting arguments from Regina. She quickly made do with a paper towel from the women's bathroom and dampened it underneath cool water. That should work for now and help ease some of Regina's migraine, or so she hoped. Cold and dark always helped her.

When she returned to the room, Emma had flicked the lights off, which had earned a slight gasp from somewhere across the room. The blonde nearly chuckled to herself as she made her way towards the teacher's desk, weaving through the smaller desks until she had reached Regina once again.

"Hey, baby. I tried to hurry…" Emma offered her a small lilt of the lips. "Why don't you put this on your forehead, or all of your face if you need to, and I'll get the special lunch I promised."

"Well, I am certainly anxious to see what you have to offer." Regina mumbled after slapping the soggy paper towel on her forehead in a bunch.

"I hope you'll like it. I made it all by myself this time. It's not a day old from the diner."  
The blonde made haste with grabbing her backpack and bringing it over to Regina's desk, setting it on top of a few papers. The brunette watched her with curious eyes as Emma unzipped the bag and brought out a container with two plastic wrapped sandwiches, two small bags of potato chips, and a package of snack cakes for a makeshift dessert. She set the container, opened, on Regina's lap before pulling out two bottles of apple juice and handing one to the brunette who seemed to have struggle enough trying to hold a sandwich and keep the container from falling.

"Well, this certainly looks delicious, dear." She commented, her voice a stressed grunt after finally putting the items on her desk. "What kind of sandwiches did you make?"

"Take a bite and find out."

"As long as it isn't fish, I am perfectly fine." Regina muttered, concentrating on trying to remove the sandwich from the copious amount of plastic wrap that Emma had put on it. Finally, after a few grunts and a curse or two later, the brunette tossed the balled up plastic wrap across the room and took a bite of the sandwich itself.

"Peanut butter and jelly?" She blinked, licking jelly from her lips. "What…"

"But I made it. All by myself. It's special, isn't it?" Emma smiled innocently, bits of the sandwich's contents smeared across her lips.

"Of course it is, dear." Regina's visage immediately melted upon sight of Emma's smile. "You've got yourself all messy, darling."

"I'm a messy eater. Sorry." Emma chuckled softly, taking another bite of her sandwich. "Maybe you can clean me up?"

"Oh, I most definitely wouldn't mind, my sweet." Regina husked, daintily nibbling on her bread.

"Alright!" That was when the blonde stuffed the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and made an attempt to chew the large ball of bread and gooey peanut butter.

It had made Regina utterly speechless, and by speechless, she was completely immobile. Her jaw was slack and her brown eyes were wide as they followed every movement that the blonde had made thereafter. And Emma just _laughed_.

"I'm also quite disgusting. I hope it's not a turn off."

"Holy… Holy _shit_, Emma." Regina managed to squeak, one hand dropping onto her lap as the other still froze in air. "Th-that was _half a goddamn sandwich_."

"I don't do it often, but I wanted you to lick me." Emma tightly crossed her arms over her chest, emerald eyes dropping to the ground.

"Emma…" Regina brought her hand over to Emma's cheek, fingertips gracing the pale flesh. "I will lick you regardless. But I do not want you to choke on your food to quicken things up. If you wanted me… You could have just said, alright? You do know that I will do _anything_ for you at _any time_ you wish."

"You would?"

"Of course, honey." The brunette flashed that perfect smile of hers, melting Emma's heart like an ice cube in the middle of the desert. Then she was tilting her head up, her little pink tongue slipping from between her plump, red lips to slide across the blonde's pale, rose ones. Emma shuddered as pleasant tingles shot straight to her core, heat pooling in her lower belly at the thought of where else exactly that tongue had been.

"You taste yummy with that peanut butter and apple jam on your lips, dear. Or should we say that the sandwich tastes yummier with _you_ mixed in it." Regina purred against the blonde's lips. "I can think of a place where it would taste even more delicious."

Emma's breath hitched at the thought of where Regina was exactly insinuating. The way her voice had dropped a couple of octaves had the blonde's skin crawling and had caused funny things to happen to her insides. Oh, god, her heart felt as if it were going to explode the way that it had sped up like that.

And when Regina had found her lips with her own, she thought her _head_ was going to explode. It felt so wonderful, and the way that their lips seemed to mold so perfectly together was something of its own. She felt the brunette's body rise from her spot in the chair and it press tightly against Emma's lower half, pinning her to the desk behind them. Olive toned fingers toned curled into blonde tendrils, using her grip to tilt Emma's head to the side, deepening the kiss. Emma couldn't stop the moan that emanated in her throat, feeling something reverberate against her lips- in which she had soon found out was Regina's own noises.

The two had ended up pulling away, due to lack of oxygen. Each of their breaths were ragged, and their eyes locked in on each other's with dilated pupils and flushed cheeks.

"Did you get all the peanut butter off?" Emma murmured, tilting her head ever so slightly.

"I do believe- oh, wait!" Regina dove forward and quickly drug her tongue across Emma's chin and cheek, the corners of her own mouth tilting upwards into a rather devious smirk. "Now I did."

A blush crept up the blonde's neck from the older woman's action, causing her to fidget in her spot and look anywhere but at the brunette in front of her.

"That's good."

"Indeed. I might have to swing by the store after school today to pick up some peanut butter." The brunette retook her seat and bit into her sandwich once again, although, now, it had been crushed in her hand and jam oozed between her fingers. Emma had noticed, but Regina seemed to not, or she hadn't cared enough to take any actions.

"Uh, you sort of got some…"

"What, darling?"

"You've got some jam on your fingers."

"Oh, I know." Regina smirked, finishing off her sandwich with a few swift bites.

"You're… I know what you're insinuating." Emma narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms as if it were to be effective, although it had only made her look like an angry toddler.

"I am sorry that I had ever insinuated anything, then, dear." The brunette let her brows fly up for a moment before turning to crack open the bottle of apple juice.

"Hey… Hey! Wait." Emma squawked and made a grab for the teacher's sticky hand, bringing it soon up to her mouth to press a kiss to the back of it. "You taste like apples all over the damn place."  
"Well, I do believe that is obvious since I have apple jam all over my fingers."

"Okay, smart ass." The blonde rolled her eyes playfully. "I meant _before_ you had it on you. I think your apples are turning you into an apple."

"Well, that certainly is interesting, isn't it?" Regina watched as Emma lave her tongue across the sun kissed skin, cleaning up spots of the jam there. Then she stopped by her index finger and licked between it and her thumb before taking the digit into her mouth to give it a good clean.

Emma could feel the brunette's heated gaze on her and the way that she shifted ever so slightly, attempting to press her thighs together. And the way that she had moaned when the blonde had shifted to her middle finger sent shivers down her spine and that aching throb between her own legs.

"They still smell faintly of you, don't they, dear?" Regina whispered, her eyes following every movement that Emma had made, her lower lip getting sucked into her mouth every so often and that tongue coming out to wet them beforehand.

Although, her words had made Emma pause her little cleanup and pull Regina's hand slightly away from her mouth. "What?"

"And I just _could not_ help but to take every chance that I got to remind myself of what we did."

"You're naughty." The sly look on the blonde's face could not be hidden. All Emma could picture at that moment was Regina in class and the way she seemed to keep scratching her nose or lean against the podium with her hands by her face. That woman must have been taunting her then, or at least took some joy in watching Emma in the back of class with her scent. Whatever it may be, that woman was quite wicked and undeniably sexy.

"I know I am, love. You really have no idea what I hide. But you'll soon find out." And that _wink_ that she gave sent Emma's heart fluttering. What the hell did she mean by that? Well, at least she would soon find out, right? Although, there was something both terrifying and exciting about that statement and made her scared and both curious to find out what the hell Regina was talking about.

"I think I'm rather terrified of what your dark side would be."

"Oh, I don't think you will be, Emma. At least, not with what you had given me." And then she was smirking once again, using her free hand to fumble around by her chair for what Emma guessed was her purse. It wasn't long before she had the black bag on her lap, searching through it for the gift that the blonde had given her yesterday. Then she pulled it out and Emma very nearly blushed.

"Had I known you were into this..." Regina twirled the strip of leather between her fingers and looked up at the blonde whose eyes were not locked on the rope-like material.

She honestly had no clue why she stuck the damned thing in Regina's purse. It was something that Graham had given her when the brunette wasn't looking. He had mentioned something about giving it to Regina. She would either know what to do with it or just be thoroughly confused as to why Emma would have given her such a strange object.

Emma had talked to Graham last night and told him of Regina's reaction towards the leather. She nearly ripped him a new one over the phone until he had somehow convinced her that all would be fine. Maybe Regina was just shocked that Emma would be into such a thing and the blonde didn't even know if she were. She would be awkward as hell with whatever techniques that her friend had suggested because she didn't remember half of them. But there was something about tying Regina down that sent shivers of excitement coursing through her body.

"I'm more curious about it, really. I heard and read things, but..."

"I see, dear." Regina nodded absently as she shoved the leather piece back into her purse. There was a twitch on her lips and Emma knew she was trying to bite back whatever smile she had going on. "Well, I still do have my present for you at home, if you still so desire to see it. Perhaps we can even combine the two?"

"We can do that?" Emma quirked a brow and Regina nodded.

"You'll just have to wait and see, dear. But, I'll have to grade the remaining tests beforehand." The brunette stuffed the remaining food in the container they came in and shoved that into Emma's backpack. "Think you can handle the wait?"

"As long as I'm with you, I can wait for anything." Emma smiled, although it didn't quite reach her eyes, as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Well, if you're so sure, darling." Regina stood, pressing a kiss to the blonde's cheek. "I shall see you after school, then. Take care, my love, and have a good rest of the day."

"I'll try, but I still have detention afterschool. Thanks, Gina. I, uh, I love you, yeah?" Emma quickly pecked Regina's lips just as the bell rang. Both made a noise of displeasure before the teacher replied.

"I love you, too."

Emma couldn't help the grin that easily spread across her face as she left the classroom, but not before giving Regina one last glance, in which was returned by the sweetest smile that could have very much given her cavities.

As she made her way to her Government class in Mr. Glass' room, she just couldn't seem to erase the damned smile from her lips. She was quite anxious about what Regina had planned for her later that day. The next two periods and that worthless detention would probably drag on with just her luck. Time was never fast enough when there was something she wanted to do. Hopefully the day would go by rather quickly because she was curious as hell about what Regina had meant. Was she really into stuff like that? Or was she just pulling her chain? And what was she going to give her?

So many questions and the answers to them were hours away. This wouldn't just be the slowest periods that she would ever been in, they'd also be the most agonizing. Her brain would probably be too occupied with questionable thoughts for her to pay attention in class. Maybe, then, she'd be able to get through the day. Oh, did she hope so.

* * *

After what had felt like hours more than the hours spent in school, the day was finally over and so was detention, especially with Jefferson and Victor. Those two had bugged her the entire time as Mr. Gold sat in his office and had immediately stopped whenever he showed any sign of checking on them. It was rather annoying, of course, but at least Emma occupied her mind- like she had throughout the entire day- with thoughts of what the hell Regina had planned. And every time that she had thought about it, and tried to ignore the two teenage boys, she gazed up at the clock or snuck in a glance at her phone to take the time.

That had always made her feel better, because she was counting down from an hour and each time that she checked it, there was less and less time for her to hitch a ride with Regina. She had become quite ecstatic when Mr. Gold had dismissed the three of them from detention, and so much, that she very nearly ran down the hallway towards Ms. Mills' room.

The brunette was outside the classroom, waiting with her purse, a few folders, and a warm smile. Emma immediately returned the smile and strutted the distance in haste to reach the awaiting teacher.

"Sorry it took me so long."

"It had only taken you a couple of minutes, dear. And, besides, while you were in the office, I was able to make a rather large dent in the tests. There are now less to grade, so that means more time to spend with you, my love. But there's bad news." Regina spoke as the two headed outside and to the Mercedes parked by the other staff cars- which had now declined immensely.

"Bad news?" Emma frowned, ducking her head to enter the passenger's side. Regina only nodded and handed the blonde the folders that she had in her hand before closing the door and rounding the vehicle.

When she got inside herself, did she then explain.

"I had found a neat stack of ungraded writing assignments from, I do believe, last week." The brunette muttered disdainfully as she start the car, soon after pulling out of the parking lot. "I'll have to at least make a dent on those tonight."

"Damn… Can I help with something?"

"You can't grade the papers, or the written part of the tests, but I will allow you to check over the multiple choice. Alright?"

Emma shifted slightly in her spot and nodded. "Alright."

"And that will let me at least get a start on the papers." The brunette concluded, parking the Mercedes in the driveway. "I want to at least get the tests done before anything, alright? I have… things planned if you do not mind."

"'Course not, babe. As long as I get to spend my time in the same vicinity as you, I am perfectly fine." Emma said as she and Regina exited the car and headed towards the house.

The blonde was nearly shivering by the time they had entered the house. It was damned cold out there and sitting in the car- which was also quite cold- hadn't helped much. Thankfully Regina didn't keep it too cold in her home, or too hot for that matter. It was the perfect temperature and Emma was thankful for that.

"Perfect. Would you like anything to drink or eat before we sit down?" Regina shrugged her pea coat off and hung it up in a little closet by the stairs. She had Emma remove her red leather jacket to hang up as well before taking her hand and leading her to the sitting room after the blonde had murmured a negative response.

"Come, my dear, we shall sit and grade papers."

"Oh, joy."

"Welcome to the life of a teacher." The brunette chuckled, taking a seat on the leather couch, her purse hitting the floor next to her feet and the folders on the coffee table in front of her. Emma gladly occupied the space next to her and immediately got handed a sleek, black folder and a red ballpoint pen.

"I have the answer key on the front of the stack. There should be one class period's tests left which, if I am not wrong, will be underneath the key bound with a paperclip. You may check the other stacks in case I had missed any, but as far as I know, those are the only ones that are left." The teacher explained as Emma opened the folder and removed the stacks of paper from inside.

As she looked over the tests to make sure that the brunette was correct, Regina had begun pulling out the papers from her classes' writing assignments. She had also gained a red ballpoint pen and started to read through the paper on the top of the first stack. Emma, on the other hand, had started to grade the very first paper. Luckily it was set up rather easy with the answer on a separate line on the far left side of the paper. Now she understood why teacher's made their tests like this. It was a hell of a lot easier to grade.

And so she found out as her eyes scanned over the answers on the first page's key, then over the test of the student. When she had checked what was incorrect and finished up with that, she proceeded onto the second page and did the same thing, and continued with that for the rest of the answers until she hit the page where the short answers had come into play. She set that test aside and picked up the next, becoming rather concentrated with her work now. It really wasn't so bad and quite easy at that. Perhaps she could help Regina often with grading tests. She wouldn't mind and it would be a lot quicker if she were to do this part, especially if there were no written response questions- although on Regina's tests, that was quite the impossibility.

But for now, she wanted to get through this stack of tests and hope that they would be completed rather early to get to whatever the hell Regina had planned. Emma was still quite anxious about it and spending the entire day coming up with scenarios wasn't agonizing enough, it was sitting here, knowing that at any moment she would be getting the answer that she had been looking for all day.

Luckily, it had seemed like no time before she was done grading the tests in that stack, and ones that she had found that had been left ungraded. Seeing that there wasn't any more tests to be graded, she kicked back on the couch and watched as the brunette teacher read through the written responses on the tests. She just looked so unbelievably sexy in those thick, black framed glasses, and the way that she pressed the butt of the pen to her lips as she read was almost agonizing.

Emma wanted so desperately to touch her, but she knew that the older woman was concentrated and needed to be so in order to finish her work. But, god, did she look just so goddamn _tempting_. The blonde, for the most part, tried to keep her hands to herself, but let her eyes roam over the brunette's hunched form. She had spent what felt like hours watching Regina sift through the papers, stacking the finished ones beside her (which she had only gotten through five out of twenty-two). Emma knew how many tests were in that stack and she also knew how many that the teacher had gone through, and it seemed as if things weren't getting done fast enough. Boy, did she wish that Regina would allow her to grade the written bits of the tests, because this sure as hell would be going by faster. But, it didn't work that way, and there were still about seventeen more tests to grade before they were freed and allowed to spend time together doing something other than work for school.

Emma flopped on the couch beside Regina, grunting with each movement. She could feel the older woman pause her work momentarily before shooting her an annoyed gaze, then go back to grading the tests splayed before her on both the couch and coffee table.

The blonde huffed slightly and shifted once again, bringing her legs up underneath herself to lean her body towards Regina. That woman was too damned tempting and she had only finally finished the sixth test. It felt as if it had taken them three hours to get that far, even though she knew her brain was exaggerating, but it still had felt as if it had been forever and the blonde was absolutely bored out of her skull.

In her new position, she attempted to brush raven strands aside to expose olive toned skin. Leaning even further, she pressed her lips to the soft flesh and started to trace patterns up and down the side of her throat.  
Regina's breath hitched upon contact, and tilted her head slightly to the opposite side, allowing Emma more access to the tanned flesh. The blonde couldn't help but to smirk against the older woman's skin. She was giving in. She must be just as bored and done with this work as she was.

"Emma…" The brunette hummed. "We can't do this. I need to get work done."

"Oh, come on! It's boring as hell." The blonde slightly pouted, but hadn't ceased her peppering kisses.

"I need to get these graded." Regina tried to straighten herself and continue to read the answers on the current test in her hand. But Emma, ever relentless, shifted onto her knees and swung one leg across Regina's own, ending up with a straddle on her lap. The brunette had gasped with surprise at the sudden movement and snapped her head up to meet Emma's emerald gaze.

"Please, baby?" Emma bent her head down to capture the older woman's lips with her own. Regina had hesitated before returning the kiss and the blonde could feel the reluctance. But when she had made a home of the teacher's lap and pressed her mouth hungrily against the plump red ones, she felt all sense of indecision melt away.

Regina had now eagerly slid her mouth against Emma's, her tongue slipping out to taste the teenager's pale lips. Her fingers dug pleasantly into the blonde's sides as the latter had tugged at brunette locks, earning a soft squeak.

But then Emma was off Regina's lap before she knew it and looked up, dazed, at the brunette who now stood above her. Excitement shot straight to her core at the possibilities running through her head that the teacher might plan on doing next. All those core-burning thoughts immediately quenched upon seeing the brunette grab her purse and gesture towards the stairs.

"I'll give you your present now since you seem so impatient. But, before I take you home, I must finish those papers. And, yes, I will make you sit through another boring hour. You wanted to help, dear, remember that." The corner of her mouth tilted up as she headed towards the foyer, Emma hastily jumping up to follow behind.

"Fine." Emma shrugged. Really, she didn't mind. At least she wouldn't have to wait any longer to receive this gift that Regina had for her. She was getting rather anxious now and there really was no way she could wait any longer. The blonde wouldn't mind sitting for another hour of boring hell hour as long as it was _after_ this present.

And they were getting warmer, she suspected as they reached the top of the curled staircase. She hadn't really been paying attention to where they were going, and when they stopped inside a rather large room, did she finally get her brain to boot up and process where the hell they were at and what the hell they were doing. This was Regina's bedroom.

She was in Regina's bedroom.

Of course, she should have figured at some point in their relationship they would be in here, but really, now that it was happening, she couldn't believe it. She was in Regina's _lavish_ bedroom, and it just looked so goddamn fancy. Like, really. She had a _huge_ bed. And if that weren't enough, there was this area at the far side of the foot of the bed with a few chairs and end tables. She had her own fucking living room in here, _and there was a fireplace_. God, she was almost afraid to see what the en suite bathroom looked like.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll be out with your present in a moment." Regina's husky voice broke through the blonde's thoughts. She could only nod, muttering something incoherent before perching on the edge of the bed. The brunette had smiled and there was something just so _conniving_ about it that sent shivers down Emma's spine. She had something planned and that something was probably a big something that had the blonde even more anxious. Even though Regina had just went through a door and she wanted her to hurry and return with whatever the surprise was.

"Shit…" Emma mumbled under her breath and began to kick her shoes off, soon tossing her socks in their general direction. Then she sat there, looking around at the meaningless art on the wall. It went rather well with the décor, really, and Emma really liked it. It was something she could definitely get used to. But, right now, she didn't want to stare at any of it. That was an experience to have post-coital. She wanted Regina to get out here because she already missed her warmth and kisses, and the way that she had left her hanging all hot and bothered should be illegal.

"If you don't hurry up, I'm gonna snoop!" The blonde threatened, sliding her butt off the bed to idly walk over to the nightstand on the right side of the bed. What did she have in there? Books? Magazines? Papers? Glasses? Something… dirty?

"Go right ahead, dear. My home is your home." Regina's voice echoed from across the room and Emma shrugged. If she didn't mind, Emma wouldn't protest to some snooping. Perhaps, then, she could find out a little bit more about her and see what she hides in her nightstand. Of course, if the brunette was so ready to offer…

So she quickly opened the drawer to the nightstand and peeked inside, only to find, with great disappointment, one of the romance novels that Regina liked and a pair of reading glasses. With a slight pout to herself for not finding something juicy, Emma shut the drawer and rounded the bed to check the other side. Might as well, seeing as to how it couldn't be any more disappointing, even if the damned thing were empty.  
With a shrug to herself, she pulled open the drawer, expecting to find more disinteresting objects, like a paper of some sort, or another book. But to her utter amazement, and slight shock, she found something quite more phallic than a book or reading glasses.

"You goddamn naughty woman!" Emma squawked, shoving the drawer back into its place.

"Oh, did you find my little toys, dear?" Regina purred from the doorway. Emma's eyes immediately locked onto the woman who now appeared visible to her, and her jaw had very literally dropped.

Regina was standing there in nothing but _leather_. She was clad in a tight, leather corset that punctuated her breasts, and a small, black leather pair of panties. In one of her hands was the leather rope that Emma had given her and in the other held what appeared to be a whip of some sort. And if that weren't enough mouth-watering leather, the woman was wearing thigh high heels that made the whole outfit.

_What the hell did I just get myself into?_

Whatever it was, it had Emma standing in wet panties, because that woman looked sexy as hell in leather and even more so with the objects in her hands. All the possibilities to be had with those items had another shot of heat sent to her already aching core.

"Are you going to be alright, dear?" Regina's voice seemed nothing but a growl as she slowly made her way over, appearing as if she were an animal stalking its prey.

Emma could feel a lump forming in her throat and had tried so desperately to swallow around it, because here she came and, holy fuck, was this definitely worth the wait.

"Y-yeah…"

"Good, because I will be needing that mouth," she smirked, closing the space between them with only mere inches separating their parted lips. "Also, before we further anything… I would like to wish you a happy belated birthday. Here's your gift and I do hope that you enjoy."

"I know I will-"

"Too much talking." Regina surged forward, crashing her lips on Emma's already parted ones. She felt the older woman's tongue invade her mouth without warning, which had her pressing closer against the brunette's body with a soft groan. Her own tongue slid against Regina's in a twisted tango as she felt the woman's hands explore her curves with great contempt. The hairs on her body stood on end from the contact, and when those very curious hands slid underneath her T-shirt, she shivered and gave the brunette's tongue a hard suck.

Then Regina had pulled away from the kiss, retracting her tongue from the blonde's mouth as she swiftly removed the teenager's shirt, tossing it somewhere behind her. Emma's cheeks burned from being left without her shirt, but the older woman didn't seem to take notice, for her lips were soon again on her, tasting the pale flesh on her throat with fingers working at the clasps of her brassiere.

"There we go…" Regina's voice was nothing but a sensual purr as the material snapped forward and she removed it, dropping it on the floor by their feet. Her lips connected themselves with Emma's collarbone and soon ventured their way down with a soft, peppering trail.

Emma watched as she only went further, even passing through the valley between her breasts, then straight down to her flat abdomen until she had hit the barrier of jean. Regina lifted her gaze up to the blonde with a small lilt on her lips as her fingers fumbled with the button and zipper.  
Emma shifted in her spot, trying so hard to ease the burning throb between her thighs. But it was rather futile as the brunette teacher reattached her mouth to the silky surface of Emma's heated, porcelain flesh. As she trail her plump lips downwards, she started to drag the jeans off the blonde's hips. It wasn't until the article of clothing was halfway down her thighs did she notice that Regina had also hooked her fingers onto the blonde's panties.

"Gina…" Emma gasped when she felt those lips grace over her tender flesh, which had her knees buckling and her hips bucking against the older woman's mouth, desperate for more contact. She could feel Regina's tongue slip out and lave across her sensitive folds, earning a squeak from the blonde as she tried to grind against the brunette.

"Please…" the blonde moaned into thick air, her head tilted back with her fingers curled tightly in raven locks.

But Regina had pulled away and stood straight up, that teasing tongue of her coming out slowly to lick off any juices on her lips. "I have something else planned for you." And if the sensuality in the brunette's tone weren't so promising, Emma would be protesting against her sudden halt.

"Wh-what?"

"Get on the bed, my pet, and you shall see."

Emma quickly obeyed the older woman's request and clambered onto the middle of the bed.  
Regina had soon joined her with the leather rope in her grasp and a delicious smirk on her face. It didn't take a genius to know what she had in mind and the thought of what she was about to do sent delightful shivers down her spine.

Both of Emma's wrists were soon bound together by the leather as Regina sit on her knees next to Emma's head. She tied her wrists up onto what appeared to be a hook placed on the wall above on the wall, which was conveniently placed in the middle of where the mattress would be.

Had she done something like this before?

That thought had sent Emma's heart sinking. She didn't like the thought of Regina with anyone else, and in her bed. She wanted the brunette all to herself and if she had to, she would let Regina know that.

"All secure, my dear." Regina grinned, her teeth pearly against her red painted lips. "Now it's _my_ turn."

"What do you mean?" Emma lifted her large, green gaze to meet with the brunette's.

"I mean that it's my turn to be pleasured. You must find a way to satisfy me with your hands tied above your head. You are free to contemplate it for a moment, but if you come up with a bad egg of an idea, or fail to satisfy me to an orgasm, you shall be whipped." And as to enunciate what she had just said, Regina brought the whip back into her possession and held it up with the wickedest of looks.

"Whipped?" Emma squeaked.

"Yes. So I do suggest you get to planning, and wisely… That is, unless you like the pain."

"How the hell am I supposed to do this? It's fucking impossible!" The blonde wished she could have taken those words back out of the air, because the quirked brow and the sparkle in Regina's eyes told her that she was in for it.

"Wrong answer." Regina only slightly turned her body from the position by Emma's head and let the whip fall across the blonde's pale abdomen.

Emma yelped from the lash, only able to see stars as pain shot through her body and, surprisingly enough, straight to her core.

"Do you have a different answer?"

"I don't know! I don't know how to fucking do it! This is so stressful, I hate being put under pressure." Emma squeezed her eyes shut as Regina, without a single warning, lashed out with the whip once again. She didn't know how the hell to do _anything_ to Regina at this point. All things logical had flown out the window and the pressure she was under was only forcing her brain to turn off. She just couldn't think with Regina breathing down her neck and there was that fear of having to be whipped for not coming up with a correct answer.  
"Fuck! Can't you just lay off and give me a goddamn moment?"

That had earned a frown from the brunette. The playful smile and twinkle had completely left her visage as she gazed down at the blonde below her.

"Do you not want to do this? I-I'm sorry if you don't… I didn't mean for this to not be fun… I thought you would like it."

Emma felt like she just got hit with a truck after turning her attention to Regina. The poor brunette looked like a goddamn kicked puppy and Emma knew just how exactly she must be feeling. She was firstly excited to show this all to Emma, believing that she would like it and that it would please her, only to be rejected for all the work and thought that she had put into it. It wasn't that Emma didn't like nor appreciate what Regina was doing for her, so much as the fact that she hated being put under pressure and every time that she attempted to speak, she only got hurt.

"No… I want to. I like it, Gina. I just hate… I hate being put under pressure with what you have on my shoulders and not being able to express my current inability to think about what I can do. I probably know how to do this, but just… I need some time and no whips threatening me until after I think up something. Okay, babe?" Emma tried to reach up to cup the older woman's face, only to be stopped by the leather bound to her wrists. She only huffed and gave Regina a pleading look, which had the brunette bending over her in a matter of seconds. With a fresh smile, the blonde tilted her head up and pressed her lips to her lover's.

"Alright, pet, I will give you some time to think."

"Thanks." Emma said through a sigh and closed her eyes. Now she needed to delve deep into her mind to find ways to give Regina some pleasuring without use of her hands and she knew that she needed to do most of the work. There really was only one other way- so far, at least- that Emma could think of using at the moment and that would be her mouth.

Okay, so her mouth would work. Now how the hell would she do it in her position? She was on her back and not exactly where she wanted to be with what she was thinking of. Maybe she could reference some porn stuff that she had read. There must be _some_ technique that would be brilliant to use in her position.

Wasn't there something-… Ah, yes, there was!  
"I got it!"  
"What is it, dear?" The brunette sat up on her knees once again and peered down at the blonde.

"Well, you oughta take off your panties, first."

"I suppose I might as well give you this one, right?" Regina chuckled and set the whip on the opposite side of the bed before slowly sliding the leather underwear down her hips and legs. The blonde watched the enticing movements with hungry eyes and licked her lips.

"Oh, yes, good…"

"What do you have planned?"

"I need you to… uh…"

"Yes?"

"It sounds so crass for me to just say it…" Emma could literally _feel_ the blush creeping up her neck and heating her cheeks.

"Just spit it out, Emma. I _love_ dirty talk."

"Oh, I know…" she muttered.

"I'll whip you again, dear. Is that what you want?"

"No thank you…" The blonde took a look at her stomach and the two red marks contrasting against the pale flesh from the earlier whipping. Sure, it did feel rather arousing to be struck by a whip with Regina on the other end, but it hurt like a bitch.

"Anyways, I, uh, I need you to get on my… my, uh, face."

"Your face?"

"Yeah. Straddle it. Like… It would work, right?"

"Oh, more than you would know, Emma dear." Regina's voice was a purr. She chuckled again at the way the blonde seemed to sheepishly sink into the bed before winking at her and changing positions.

Before Emma knew it, Regina was where she had wanted her to be, both thighs on either side of her head on the pillow with her hands clutched onto the headboard on either side of Emma's arms.

"Are you alright, dear?" She asked as her hips hovered over the blonde's face.

"Yeah! Just… go ahead and lower yourself, babe." Emma wished her hands weren't bound as the brunette lowered herself, taking a sharp inhalation of breath as her aching core had come into contact with the blonde's awaiting mouth. It would have been less awkward if she were able to hold Regina hips, especially as she started moving against Emma's already rapidly thrumming tongue.

"You know, Emma," Regina's voice was breathless already as she rocked against the blonde. When she got a grunt in response, she continued. "They call this queening."

_Ah, so that's what this was called_.

She tried to make a sound that resembled "_oh?"_

"Yes. It suits me perfectly, don't you think? They call me the Evil Queen of the school."

Emma could just _hear_ Regina's smirk. She must have just been so proud. But it was true. It _had_ suited her perfectly. She was dubbed the Evil Queen and, well, she was queening now, or whatever the hell one would call it. Perhaps Emma should show her how much her loyal subjects appreciated such a queen?

So the blonde had made sure to hit every sensitive spot that she knew so far on Regina the best that she could on repeat, because if the older woman was as aroused as she, it would be for the best. She could feel Regina's arousal dripping down her thighs, which had ultimately coated bits of her face and had only shot more heat to her core. Oh, god, did she hope that Regina would soon return the favor because she was absolutely _aching_ and yearned for a release of her own.  
With that in mind, it had only made her work faster with her tongue, working it between the sopping folds to find Regina's sweetest spot that had the older woman very nearly crying her name.

"_Oh, god! Right there! More!"_

Emma groaned a reply against her as she allowed the pace of her tongue to move faster, and tried for hard, against that very spot that had Regina rocking her hips in a wild, desperate tango against her mouth.

"_Emma please, I-I'm so close…_" The brunette's plea had the blonde working faster, and somehow working her wrists free from the leather rope because her arms snapped forward from the tug that she had been consistently holding ever since she had started. Really, she hoped Regina wouldn't mind, nor whip her again, because her now free hands were gripping the older woman's hips and taking advantage to move her body up and down vertically in time with her thrusts.

And that had apparently done it in for Regina for her own movements had slowed to a stop as her inner walls clamped around Emma's tongue. The brunette's breath had hitched and hit a breathless frenzy as she tried to ride out the spasms taking over the functions of her body. Emma tried to help her ride it out all she could, and ultimately make the orgasm much more intense for her, as she continued to relentlessly thrum her tongue on that spot, which had the brunette moaning her name and clutching until her knuckles were white on the headboard.

"_Fuck,_ you're going to kill me, Emma…" Regina panted, her body had now finally relaxed from what felt like an endless spasm of her body. She lifted one leg over the blonde onto the left side of the bed, but not before the blonde had held her in place and gave the inside of her thigh one hard bite. Regina squeaked a profanity as she was released and collapsed next to Emma, her chest heaving and her brow sweaty.

"Did I do well?" the blonde smirked, her tongue coming out to lick the area around her mouth clean.

"That was the best orgasm of my life, dear. I think you did more than well…" Regina tossed onto her side and gazed at the blonde, her visage completed sated. "But what the fuck was that bite for?"

"Really?" Emma's eyes widened incredulously. Had it really been that good? And, shit… hopefully her little act of 'mine' didn't turn the brunette off. "I… I want you to be mine. _Mine_ and no one else's."

"Really, dear. And I already am yours, don't forget that. If you want to mark me, try somewhere else. My thighs are a little sensitive. I'll have a bitch of a bruise there tomorrow."

"I'm sorry… I'll, uh, bite you somewhere else, then."

"Good. But, before you do that, let me repay you." The brunette purred before tossing onto her other side and reaching for the bedside table. She opened the drawer and Emma could hear fumbling before it had closed again and Regina was facing her once again, only this time she held something.

"What is that?"

"It's a bullet." Regina smirked and pushed herself up into a sitting position. "I take it you must have seen my-"

"Yeah. Yeah… no need to…"

"I'm quite sorry if I had traumatized you. I do hope you won't think of it as a self-pleasuring tool after I will have used it on you in the future. Because, I plan on doing just that." The brunette winked and leaned forward to press her lips to the blonde's florid cheek.

"I'm really having a hard time trying to imagine you buying that stuff."

"Why?"

"Because you're… you're all regal and classy and stuff. I just can't see you going into some adult store and buying a dildo."

"Well, it is quite a normal occurrence, dear. It's only natural."

"But, still…" Emma shifted slightly and eyed the little black object between the brunette's fingers.

"Don't worry about it, my pet. Just enjoy the pleasure that it brings." Regina whispered and hoist herself on top of the blonde once again, this time her entire body covering Emma's. She fumbled with her fingers for a moment before letting the one with the little bullet on it find the soaked folds between the blonde's legs.

"Your pet?"

"Yes, you are my pet. You are my… teacher's pet." The brunette smirked, leaving Emma blushing against the fluffy pillows. Did she really just say that? It had brought an entirely new meaning to the term 'teacher's pet', and the new definition was far more arousing than the original. Of course, Emma had started off as a typical teacher's pet, but now she was literally the teacher's _pet_ and it really wasn't as bad as it might sound. She quite enjoyed being Regina's.

"I like that." Emma whispered, nosing against the brunette's olive cheek. "It makes me feel warm and fuzzy in all the right ways."

"Good, because you make me feel the same, Emma. And every time I see you…"

"Especially now. I can just picture you… squirming."

"Oh, god, you've got my insides already turning for another round, love." Regina chuckled, a rich sound that had Emma moving almost impatiently underneath the brunette.

"I want you to make me come, Gina. _Please_. I need you. I want you. I _crave_ you."

"Then it is me you shall have." Her voice was laced with sex as she flipped the bullet on and pressed it against the blonde's aching center. She made sure to coat it with Emma's arousal, which, in itself, had the blonde already writhing impatiently under her and her hips bucking for more pressure.

Regina hadn't hesitated to abide Emma's silent wish and slipped the object attached to her finger between the slick folds, almost immediately hitting the blonde's swollen clitoris.

"_Reg-G-Gina!_" She cried, stars blurring her vision from the intense pleasure. Her entire body had jerked, hips meeting with Regina's hand and her back arching taut against the leather bound to the older woman.

"I found a good spot, hm?"

"Please…" The blonde whimpered, holding onto the brunette for dear life, her face buried in the crook of her neck. Regina pressed a kiss to the side of Emma's head as she, once again, granted her wish and began to thrust the object against the sensitive bundle of nerves, mercilessly making each hard and fast.  
Emma felt as if her head would explode at the amount of pleasure that had her body in a frenzy. Her hips barely had enough time to rock against the hand pleasuring her, meeting with each pump. She could feel her body already building up for climax and soon all that was on her mind was finding her release. Whatever that thing was felt absolutely amazing and worked rather quickly as well- although, that could have been from the sexual tension already built up from waiting so long after the initial interaction.

"_Fuck, fuck… Gina… I-I'm… I'm gonna…_" Emma couldn't form the right words to say when her peak had hit her suddenly like a semi. Her hips bucked up one last time, slamming painfully into Regina's own, and her teeth sinking into tanned flesh. She didn't know how hard, and barely cared, until she tasted blood and heard the sharp gasp from the brunette who had slowed her fingers to a sudden halt.

Then the two were soon slumped against the bed, Regina felt like a dead weight on top of the blonde who was already struggling enough to breath with her heart rapidly thrumming against her chest like a jackhammer.

"I hope you do realize… that that bite…"

"Was too hard?" Emma frowned as she had noticed crimson trickling from the fresh wound on Regina's shoulder.

"No." The brunette lifted her brown gaze to meet with emerald, plump pink lips curving upwards. "It made me come again, my dear."

"No shit?"

"You are just amazing with your mouth, Emma. You are." She complimented, her voice husky, yet quite breathless, as she removed the little device and switched it off before tossing it onto her nightstand.

"What can I say? It got me this far in life." Emma shrugged, a smug smile on her face.

"Well, I certainly am glad, dear." Regina giggled, light and airy, as she brushed a strand of golden hair behind Emma's ear. "Because that means you're here and I have you all to myself."

"Yeah. And I have you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I'm super glad that the Nolans took me in."

"I am, too, darling." The brunette bent her head down slightly to press a kiss to the blonde's forehead, then moved down to peck her nose before sealing a kiss on her lips. Emma returned the kiss almost instantly, melting into the older woman like she was her safe haven.

"I love you, Emma Swan."

"I love you too, Regina Mills." The blonde's words were said on a yawn and she blushed, opening her mouth to apologize but Regina had interrupted her with a chuckle.

"Sounds like someone it worn out."

"Sure as hell am."

"Why don't you take a small nap, dear? I ought to clean up this blood and change before I can join you, if you don't mind?"

"Aw… I can wait?"

"If you wish, dear." The brunette chuckled and gave Emma a quick kiss on the lips before rolling off her and the bed to stand at the side with a warm smile. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay." Emma nodded and watched as Regina picked up a few things from the floor and headed off to through one of the doors. That was the last thing the blonde had seen before she dozed off.

Emma had woken up what felt like only five minutes later to a lamp light and scribbling. When she shifted, she felt the weight of Regina's comforters wrapped around her and saw the woman responsible for covering her up with them sitting cross-legged on the opposite side with a pen in her hand and her black, thick framed glassed resting halfway down the bridge of her nose.

The blonde rapidly blinked her eyes, trying to shove the drowsiness away, and sat up, bringing the covers with her. It was rather chilly in here now that she had absolutely nothing on and Regina wasn't necessarily sharing the blankets with her. She was sitting on them, which aroused a problem, since only half the blankets went up with Emma. The blonde sat awkwardly, watching as the brunette read a piece of paper on her lap with a stack of papers underneath it.

"How long have I been out?"

"About an hour." Regina answered without taking her eyes off the paper.

"Didn't you nap, too?"

"No." The brunette pulled her glasses off and turned her head towards the blonde, a brow quirked. "You were snoring not a minute after I went to change. So I decided to do all my chores quietly and try to finish grading these tests. I've got most of them done except for three."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep." Emma mumbled, lowering her head. "I normally don't fall asleep so fast."

"It's fine, my love. You were exhausted. Just be happy that you won't have to sit through an hour of watching me grade tests." Regina offered Emma a lopsided smile. "Why don't you come over here and snuggle me while I finish these off? Then we can get you home."

"What? I don't want to go home." The blonde's tone was rather whiny now as she crawled over to Regina and hooked an arm around her waist, her chin sitting on the woman's shoulder.

"You will have to, Emma. Your mother will be worried if you do not arrive soon. It's almost eight thirty now. I don't think it would be appropriate if you were tutoring with me for this long." Regina explained soothingly, rubbing the blonde's back in slow, circular motions.

Emma nodded and sighed without any further argument. She knew that she couldn't stay here late at all. It was strange enough that she was tutoring with Ms. Mills for _government_, but arriving home so late at night was even more so. It really shouldn't take the four or five hours it will have been to study.

"Good girl." Regina rumbled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Emma replied, a small smile gracing her lips as she watched the teacher return to grading the tests. She would never get tired of hearing those three little words coming from the older woman's mouth. They were like music to her ears- the sweetest melody that she had ever heard.

So she had decided to remain a good girl and keep quite through the next three test gradings until the brunette was finished with them and had also obeyed when Regina asked her to get dressed so they could go. It wasn't long before they were leaving the house, Emma reluctantly so. She wished she could stay here, even live here, so she would never have to leave the brunette. Sadly, she couldn't, or at least not until she was old enough to do so- and that would be if Regina would have her there. But, really, that was something that should be put off for a later date. That was something that needed to still be discussed with Regina because she didn't know where the hell their relationship was going, but she did know that it was quite serious and might develop into something even more so later down the path. Just hopefully it would stay as strong as it is now and perhaps build even stronger the more their relationship progresses. All Emma knew at the moment was that she never wanted to leave Regina and missed every minute that they were apart. That was typical for new lovers, and Emma knew that, but she certainly hoped that their relationship so far wasn't based on something that of puppy love or flimsy feelings. What she felt seemed real enough, but she couldn't be sure. She hadn't necessarily been in love before. But maybe, just maybe, this was the real thing. And maybe, it would last for a very long time.


	16. Winter Formal

**A/N: I know it's all late again. I'm terribly sorry about that! I had most of it written in a notebook. About the first half (maybe less) is something that I had written for a while now (probably back to when I first posted Teacher's Pet). I intended the story to just skip to this part and this would actually be their first time. I hope, though, that I had utilized it enough to fit with where the story is now. **

**Alsooooo, I hope that you enjoy the chapter, even though it's a bit tardy. :) Please tell me what you think of this chapter! I really do enjoy your feedback and whatever suggestions you may have (shameless or not). Thank you sooo much for reading! And thank you for all that had left reviews for my last chapter. I really, really, really appreciate them! They're fun to read! :)**

**One last thing, I have been informed of this petition called "Stop SOPA 2014". I swear there was something like this a year or so back, but it's threatening to remove anything that may be considered piracy, which would include, but not limited to, fanart, fanfictions, fan-pages, and fan made videos. I don't think we'd really survive if those things went bye-bye. Give it a shot and sign the petition, if you wish.  
petitions. whitehouse. gov/petition/stop-sopa-2014/q0Vkk0Zr**

* * *

It wasn't until the week before winter break when Emma had finally completed the portrait of Ms. Mills. To the blonde teenager's discontent, they weren't supposed to work on the project right away. But, when they did get to work on it, it wasn't going to be exactly what Emma had planned. They were doing it in ebony pencil at first, which was fine with her because the drawing turned out exactly how she wanted it, but then Ms. Boyd surprised at least her with announcing that they were going to do it _again_. But this time it was supposed to be even further detailed with charcoal, both white and black, _and_ ebony pencil.

Emma wanted to cry. She was eager to show her creative writing teacher the ebony portrait as soon as it was completed, but the damned art teacher wouldn't let the students take them out of the room. She contemplated on sneaking it out, but the damned folder was too large and the pencil bits too messy. So she had to wait.

And it wasn't until after the entire class had finished the charcoal was she able to receive both projects back. Then she was conflicted. Emma thought for sure the ebony portrait would be the best, but goddam, the way she was able to capture every detail of Regina's eyes and perfect smile with the charcoal made her want to take the messier project to flaunt.

That was a mistake, because when she arrived home the day she was able to bring the projects back, she was covered and messy as hell. That's when Mary Margaret had suggested she had the pictures framed to preserve their appearance. Of course, Emma had no argument with that and decided to wait the few extra days until they were fitted and framed. She had to do it all herself instead of letting her foster mother take the art with her. Really, she didn't want Mary Margaret to know that the subject was that of Regina Mills. That would surely earn some questioning.

But by the time she had them in her room, sitting in their shiny new frames, it was Thursday night and Regina was busy with work, so she couldn't bring them over. She had to wait before she would be able to show the teacher the charcoal portrait of herself. And, shit, that was going to be a bother to carry around school for three whole periods and what have it afterwards.

Maybe she could leave it home and convince Regina to wait for her as she would quickly run home and grab it. And so she did. Fourth period was over and Regina was waiting by her desk for Emma to assume her place.

The blonde pulled out the paper bag and two bottles of juice from her backpack before heading over to the teacher's desk and setting the items down. Regina offered her a smile before her visage melted into that of confusion.  
"Are you not going to sit today, Emma?" she asked.

"Actually," Emma started, a light pink tinting her cheeks as she played with one of the juices. "I finished that drawing of you."

"You did?" She seemed momentarily confused before surprise etched across her features. "I had forgotten that you were working on that, dear. I assumed that you had given up."

"Never." Emma quickly said.  
"Where is it?" This time, Regina seemed to have taken a much darker tone to her cheeks and that had the blonde smirking, although she tried to hide it from the brunette's wandering chocolate orbs.

Emma bit her lip and played with a blonde lock of hair, twirling it around her finger. "At my house. I have to go get it. I didn't want to lug that thing around throughout the day."

"Oh, you shouldn't walk out in this weather, honey." Regina frowned, looking up at the blonde who stood on the other side of her desk. "It snowed this morning. I don't think it's a wise idea."

"But I want you to see it." Emma pouted and took a step away from the brunette's desk. "You were busy yesterday when it got back from the framers."

"Emma…" She looked conflicted for a moment, then quickly stood from her chair and grabbed the pea coat that draped around the back of it.

Emma stopped. "What are you doing?"

With a playful roll of her eyes, Regina shrugged the coat on and grabbed the purse underneath her desk. "If you're going to be so persistent upon walking to your house to grab a drawing to show me, the least I can do is drive you. I do not want you to get sick. That would really tamper with my plans for you."

_Well, fuck, I've never thought of that. Of course Regina could drive me._

Emma's heart fluttered as she watched the brunette teacher walk past her to the door. "Are you coming?" she asked, opening said door.

"What about lunch?"

"You can grab it, if you feel so inclined. Be sure to turn the lights off. I'll lock the door." Then she walked into the hallway.

Emma quickly grabbed their lunches without protest and rushed out the door after her teacher. Regina was already halfway down the hall by the time the blonde had turned the light off. Her hips were swaying in that same delicious tease that she had often taunted Emma with. It was an agonizing thing to watch, but she had found herself already missing the view of Regina's ass when she disappeared outside. It hadn't taken the blonde long to catch up with her, and the both of them to be in the Mercedes.

"Are you ready to go, my love?" Regina tilted her head towards the blonde who had fastened her seat belt in time to return the gaze.

"Yup." Emma bit her lip and waited as the brunette pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. It wasn't long before the two of them had arrived at the Nolan's apartment.

Regina had parked the Benz just outside and turned to the teenager who hadn't moved. She sat there idly, staring out the window at the tall building before turning her emerald gaze to meet the brunette's awaiting visage.

"Be quick, alright?"

"You should come in." The words were out of her mouth faster than she intended, and fuck, that was strike number god knows anymore. She hated her foot-in-mouth disease.

"Well, I'm unsure-"

"It won't hurt. Besides, it's cold out here and we have a table to eat at." Emma smiled reassuringly, completely unsure of what the hell her brain was doing. Her mouth was just as bad. "My parents are gone- I mean… Not to sound... I mean… So you wouldn't be intruding or anything." And there it was again. Fuck. She needed to get surgery for that.

"If you insist." She gave Emma an amused smile before shutting the Mercedes down and pocketing the keys. "I'll grab the lunches."

"Thanks. I have to find the stupid key again." Emma mumbled as she got out of the car, the faint sound of a chuckle sounded behind her and she couldn't help but to smile. Soon, she found the house key in the mess of the kangaroo pocket to her hoodie. The two of them headed towards the apartment building and that's when Emma suddenly felt embarrassed.

"I'm sorry it's crappy," she mumbled, sticking the key into the lock as soon as they reached apartment three on the second floor. It was a sudden tide of self-consciousness that had washed over her. She had seen how nice Regina's house was. How clean, tidy, pristine, and so _luxurious_. Her measly apartment fell in the shadows of such a great building.

"Don't be, dear. It's fine." The brunette reassured, following the blonde eighteen-year-old into the small loft. Upon seeing the small kitchen table, she sat the bag and juices down along with her purse. "Shall I wait while you retrieve the drawing?"

"Yeah. I'll be back. You have a seat. Make yourself at home." Then Emma jogged up the stairs to her bedroom, making haste in removing the charcoal drawing from the wall. She was soon back downstairs, only to stop as if she ran into an invisible wall. There was Ms. Regina Mills, sitting at _her_ table, in _her_ house, and oh god, hopefully this wasn't a dream. Even though they had been going with each other for a couple of weeks now, she still couldn't believe the very sight of this woman in her home. This was all brought home and only made it all the more real. Regina didn't seem to notice Emma's presence, so the blonde just stood there and enjoyed the sight. She could never get over the masterpiece that was now her own. It was still quite unbelievable that all of this had happened. And to her, of all people. She found someone that cared for her and that she cared for herself. Although, that wasn't quite the picture that Emma was looking at, but it was a rather good one to gaze upon. It was Regina that she couldn't believe that she had. That beautiful woman wanted her.

Regina was gazing around the small loft as she waited, eyes roving over every picture, every decorative knick-knack, and… then they stopped as soon as they saw the bed. Emma's parents' room had no door, since the entire first floor was virtually an open plan- omit the bathroom, of course. And, oh god, she's staring at the bed with flushed cheeks.

So Emma cleared her throat, nervously chuckling as she reached her teacher. "Hey…"

"Oh, Emma!" The brunette visibly jumped in her spot, caught off guard from her roaming eyes.

"I've got it."

"Show me." Now the teacher was eagerly facing Emma, muddy orbs on the large frame in her hands. The glass had been turned away from Ms. Mills, but as soon as her eyes landed on the object in her student's hand, Emma flipped it around.

And she gasped.

"Oh, my…"

And then she stood, a slender hand outstretched as if she were going to touch the glass, but was too afraid to. Her mouth was open, jaw slack as if she had witnessed the most impressive of sights. Emma bit her lip, stunned at the tears welling in the woman's eyes.

"It's so… so realistic, Emma. You've done a beautiful job." Regina commented, looking up to the blonde with a large, appreciative smile on her face. And, god, her teeth are so perfectly white.

"It should be. It's you." Emma muttered, wanting so much to stick her foot quite literally in her mouth after that, because the look on Regina's face was priceless. Emma couldn't read the myriad of emotions running across her teacher's visage. She had complemented Regina so many times before- of course it would be the appropriate thing to do since they were dating after all. But she knew that the brunette still so rarely heard these things- or more so before Emma showed up. The blonde didn't quite know how Regina saw herself on this piece of paper, but she must think it was someone entirely different. Someone that wasn't herself because she was too pretty.

Emma knew how Regina's mind worked at times, and she was quite certain that that was exactly what was on the brunette's mind. Emma could even hear the teacher's deep voice bringing them to life now. _How could that woman be me? It's impossible… She's too beautiful to be me._  
"No… I'm not beautiful, dear. Your portrait is a million times the woman- the beauty- that I am." The husky voice was so quiet, Emma barely heard what she had said.  
"You're beautiful, Gina." Emma spoke far more loudly than she had intended, but it had definitely gotten the point across, for the brunette's eyes had widened incredibly. "I know what you're thinking, but you are. That's… why I wanted to draw you in the first place. I mean, looking back on it now, it was probably really creepy that I wanted to- seeing as to how you were my teacher, well, _are_. Now, though, I can say what I feel. I can give you the reason why. I don't know who or whatever made you think any differently, but it's all wrong. I mean, a lot of women, and men, face those everyday demons. Their reflection in the mirror that stares back so tauntingly at them is just another reminder that they are not good enough, they are not those models in magazines and billboards. Hell, the models on those things aren't even what they appear. It's all Photoshop and shit.

"I'm, like, fucking rambling on about this, but, like I had said before, I _will_ make you think the best of yourself. I don't want you feeling like you aren't good enough or pretty enough or smart enough or whatever the hell enough, because you are. And more importantly, you are to _me_ and that's all that matters. I love you the way that you are and I don't want you to change a thing about yourself. I don't want you to feel horrible about what you may think is wrong with you. Nothing is wrong with you, absolutely nothing is."

"Emma, darling… Please. Don't do this. I'm really not worth the time nor effort to-."

But Emma didn't let the older woman speak. She cut her off with a finger pressed against those perfect, red lips. "You _are_ worth the effort, Regina, can't you see? I don't know what you're thinking or how your mind works in order to understand how you're feeling, but I really want you to believe me. Whoever might have hurt you in the past... making you think all these absurd thoughts, I will try my damnedest to reverse them. Please let me do that. Please let me do it for _you_. I want you to believe me when I say these things… But you don't have to and I won't force you to."

"You seem to give me a lot of these little talks, don't you, dear?"

"I do it when you feel bad and I'll blab on until the cows come home about how beautiful, intelligent, perfect, haunting, and what have you, that you are. I don't give a damn if I sound repetitive. That seems to be the way to get your ass to believe me." The blonde tightly crossed her arms across her chest and gave Regina a quirked brow. "Now, if you have _anything_ to say, do it now or forever hold your peace. Or… well… until later because my mouth is dry."

"Emma…" Those plump lips moved, but no sound left them. Her name coming from those lips, though, made up for it. It was so soft, almost breathless, and dare she add even huskier than before. Emma's mind and vision felt blurry, and everything seemed to spin around her. This was unreal. This wasn't happening. This only happened in her dreams. Perhaps that's what was happening. She was dreaming and being in her house was only alerting her just that. They weren't supposed to be in her apartment. It was a dangerous place to be and a rather small one as well. But that had never stopped her from fantasizing at the dinner table, or in bed when the nights were lonely.

But her parents were gone. Mary Margaret at the elementary school and David at the Sheriff's station, or patrolling somewhere. Although, she could give a rat's ass as long as they were anywhere but here at the moment. If she was reading Regina correctly- with her brown eyes completely black with pupils dilated to several times their size, and her slightly parted lips with quick puffs of air slipping from between them- the woman was hungry and horny as hell, just like herself.

So why not go after it? No one was here and Emma's bed was just right upstairs. The table would also suffice, but would be rather uncomfortable. So, the blonde had decided to go for it. The frame was set aside as she took a step forward, right into Regina's personal bubble.

Her breath had now become shallow and her heart rate sped up, coursing adrenaline throughout her body. Emma's voice was a heady whisper, which was surely to turn the brunette on.

"Ever since the first day, I just couldn't take my eyes off you. You had this perfect, silky hair…" she recollected, daring to bring a hand up, running her fingers through the hair she had yearned to touch back then. It was still soft, just like silk. She would never tire of running her fingers through Regina's raven mane.

Swallowing thickly, her green eyes stared into the brown ones in front of her, which were blown wide with a deep, voracious hunger that Emma knew could never be satisfied with food. "And your eyes. They show so much hidden emotion, I've had fun staring into them, trying to figure out what you're thinking as you speak. But that mouth. You had this dark, red lipstick on, and, oh, it was so agonizing to watch as you licked them between every sentence."

Emma's second hand found purchase on Regina's cheek, and she heard that sharp intake of air as she gently ran the pad of her thumb over the older woman's upper lip, lightly skating the scar that she had been so curious about. She never did ask about that, but really, this was not much of a taking matter. Perhaps she'd address it later, like the many other things she had put off for so long.

"And you wore this tight, _tight_ power suit that just hugged your ass. Every time you turned or bent…" Emma chewed on her lower lip as the hand in the raven locks fell away to rest on Regina's posterior end. And that's when she surged forward and crashed her lips against the English teacher's.

It was nothing but needy desperation as she furiously kissed those goddamn lips that had taunted her since the beginning of the year, almost four months ago. She was terrified that she had read Regina wrong, for she hadn't made a point to move, that was, until she felt a hand cup the nape of her neck as soft lips moved against her own.

Emma felt the older woman's lips part and she took that as invitation to enter her mouth. And, _fuck_, she tasted good. She tasted sweet and so much like caramel apples. Then the blonde remembered seeing one of those paper coffee cups on her desk earlier in fourth period. If that wasn't enough to bring Emma to her knees, it was that _delicious_ groan that emanated from Regina's throat which caused the blonde to think she would _absolutely _die.

And then it was over when oxygen became a necessity. Both had mutually pulled away, panting heavily and staring at each other with dilated pupils.

_This has to be a dream_, Emma thought, her legs slightly wobbly as she stood, being mostly supported by Regina's arms which had sometime taken her small frame into them.

"Reg… Regina…" Emma couldn't help but to say her name, and it came out so breathlessly and lustfully, and fuck, that look that it had earned her.

It was almost a silent plea on that woman's face, and Emma thinks that she knew exactly what the brunette was asking for she felt the desire throbbing between her own thighs.

"Emma…"

That was enough to get Emma to gather her wit and grab onto the brunette's hand, then proceeded to head towards the stairs that led up to her bedroom. As soon as her feet hit the top landing, she turned to look at the woman who had followed behind her, a lip caught between her teeth.  
That was a _holy hell, fuck all things moral_ look right there and it was enough to force Emma into the room and up against a wall as their lips came crashing down on one another again. The sensation caused more heat to pool between her legs and she swore if she didn't get touched soon, she would explode right there.

Emma had decided to make the first move, moving her free hand to cup the side of Regina's neck. Apparently that was enough for the brunette, for Emma soon felt a hand tugging at her black jeans until soon she felt it go past the waistband.

"_Oh_," she gasped against the teacher's cheek when the hand reached her panties and slipped past the elastic band. She blushed deeply as the hand tried to squeeze inside the tight jeans, fingers brushing against her sensitive flesh in the process which was enough for Emma to blank.

All logical and coherent thoughts flew out of her brain in that moment. Whatever was happening at the moment was nothing but raw emotion and there was no stopping it. Emma backed away from the wall, her hand on the brunette's wrist in an attempt to tug it out of her pants. Then there was that look, a look of absolute rejection once she did that.

Guilt ate at her heart for making Regina feel like she was being rejected. Of course, she wasn't, so Emma gave her a reassuring kiss before slipping her jeans off. She smiled, hoping it was explanation enough, before tugging on the older woman's hand to bring her closer so she could begin removing the pea coat she still wore.

But Regina stopped her with a lifted hand and shook her head. Heart sinking into her stomach, Emma backed away, only to notice as the high school teacher began to undress herself. And, holy fuck, was that just hot. It was first the coat, which landed next to the blonde's jeans. Next it was the jacket, which left Regina's arms completely exposed.

Emma licked her lips at the sight of smooth, olive skin and made haste to remove what remained of her own clothing. It took her record time to shuck everything off and now she stood, self-consciously, in her birthday suit. One leg crossed over the other as her arms crossed over her exposed breasts.  
Regina, on the other hand, stood proudly, stark naked in the middle of Emma's bedroom. This reminded the teenager of a dream she had the other night and it made her pray to whatever high deity that this was real. This was not a dream.

The kiss seemed real enough, and so did the feeling of her teacher's breasts and skin against her own. And, _oh_, did it feel so _good_. Emma couldn't help but to let out a guttural moan from each sensation. Her desire only grew into a raging fire, the sudden need had her pressing closer against the tanned flesh. Her hips ground against the other woman's, and the sound that came from her shot straight to Emma's core.

Teeth clashing, tongues dueling, and lips smashing against each other, the two eventually found the bed and fell back against it. Somehow Regina had ended up on top, slowly rocking against the thigh between her own. The blonde's hands roamed over as much olive flesh as they could, savoring the smooth and warm skin underneath her fingertips as she shifted her leg further up, pressing her knee against the brunette's center. The way the other woman squirmed under her dubious touches only made the blonde's ego grow.

Pale, slender fingers delved through thick and silk raven locks, tugging slightly at every touch given to the owner's. Regina had found the swell of one of Emma's breasts. The hand delicately squeezed the small globe as if she were afraid it would break. The blonde's response was eager, her back arching against the palm as a soft cry made its way from her lips.

"Regina," Emma whispered as she broke away for air. Her thigh had begun to grow cooler as the slick juices from Regina's heat started to dry, for the woman ceased movements upon discovering the younger girl's body.  
The teacher smirked, lips bright red and swollen. "Emma," she whispered, the hand on the teen's breast moved further south until it reached forbidden territory, her other soon finding the blonde's own hand to intertwine their fingers together.

Emma's breath hitched as she felt skilled fingers move across her sensitive lips, soon nuzzling between the folds, her hand squeezing the hand that Regina had given her. She jumped and let out a choked moan when the English teacher had found the sensitive bundle of nerves, and holy fuck, did that feel good. Yearning for more contact, she ground her hips against the hand and began to rock at a pace that Regina had set as she rubbed the girl's clit in tight circles.

"You're so _wet_. I always like that about you, my pet." She purred into Emma's ear, her teeth gently teasing the lobe before she pulled those delicious lips away, only to trace the blonde's jaw with them.

Emma bucked her hips and cried, "only for you!" Her eyes squeezed tightly together and she swore she saw stars.

"Yes… right there…" she encouraged the now exploring fingers as they slipped up and down the length of her slit. Then, without further notice, two fingers slipped inside of her. "_Fuck_."

"Language… Ms. Swan… Unless you plan on doing exactly that to me." Regina growled tantalizingly into her ear, and holy fuck, did Emma come so hard against her hand, screaming her teacher's name into the desolate air. Her inner walls squeezed those fingers and her body shook with spasms as she stilled, the grip on the older woman's hand had tightened. The teacher, though, hadn't stopped her thrusts and helped the blonde ride out the orgasm until the spasms died altogether. And she lay there, panting like she had just run a marathon.

Having a sudden desire to see that gorgeous woman above her reach such heavenly heights, her own fingers began to find their way between their bodies to discover the brunette's own hot arousal.

"You know…" the blonde panted, her index finger lightly grazing over the older woman's damp, intimate curls. She could feel Regina softly squeeze her hand from the contact, which had her continue with her exploration.

"Hm?" The brunette hummed in pleasure, finally pulling her fingers from Emma. She brought them to her mouth and licked each one delicately, groaning softly both at the taste and feeling of the teen's exploring fingers.

"I've been wondering…" she shivered, her cheek tinted a deep shade of pink as she watched Regina. Was it possible to get horny so fast?

Regina shifted up so she could straddle Emma's stomach, which had ultimately allowed more access for the blonde's fingers, to where she had immediately thrust into her teacher.

"W-wondering what?" The brunette moaned her words, her eyes squeezed tight as she rolled her hips against the thrusting fingers.

"Do I suck at this?" Emma asked rather sheepishly, eyes drinking up the woman above her, marveling at how sexy she looked with pleasure on her visage and the way the sweat glistened on her bouncing breasts.

Then she smirked. That damn smirk. Hot chocolate eyes met with forest green and right then, her silent question was answered. "Of course you don't, dear. If I hadn't known you were previously were a virgin, I would have expected you to have lain with many women."

"Cool." Emma smirked, awkwardly shifting her thumb to press against Regina's clit, which ended in an ultimate success as the brunette mewled softly and bucked her hips.

"You fuck like a whore, but then again, so do I…" she growled, taking the blonde completely by surprise. Soon her lips were back on Emma's in a searing kiss. The rocking of her hips came quicker and more desperate as the fingers pumped harder and faster, urging her to come over the edge. "That's another thing I love about you."  
And it didn't take long, or much. All Emma did was whisper, "Come for me, _whore_ …" before the teacher came undone in front of her. Her entire body stiffening in its place as wave after wave of pleasure shot through the brunette's body. Emma could feel the way her walls clamped around her fingers and the way they pulsated after she had started to come down from her high. Her hand had done something similar, although had a much tighter constriction to it. And, for the fiftieth time today, _holy fuck. _She wondered if Regina had been fantasizing about this moment as well or not. Emma thought to tick that one on the roster of questions to ask later. Also, did that woman secretly weightlift? They often held hands when making love, but holy shit, did she have a strong grip on her this time.

Regina collapsed beside Emma, her chest rising and falling heavily, her thumb stroking the top of the blonde's hand. She turned her head and watched as Emma brought her fingers to her lips, her tongue coming out to taste the residue left over from the brunette's orgasm. She closed her eyes, enjoying the salty flavor and something that tasted like... _apples?_ Regina will always be her favorite flavor.

"Remember our first time?" The brunette tossed onto her side, facing Emma, and stared at her with a quirked brow. "I was rather surprised with what you told me."

Then Emma nodded her head at the question. "Yeah, and that I've never been this far with someone before. I knew this chick once and I touched her boobs, but that was about it."

"Oh? I don't recollect hearing that." Regina smirked and scooted closer to the blonde teenager, her fingers lightly trailing across her jaw. Emma gazed at her, head slightly tilting into the touch, and the sight just made her heart melt. That woman was so stunning, even with mussed hair and sweat-slick skin.

"You're so beautiful."

"Haven't you already established that? And might I add, rather adamantly?" The brunette teased, bopping Emma's nose with her finger.

"That's why we're where we are, actually." Emma clarified, a grin on her face.

"Indeed, my love. It seems to happen quite often."

Emma stared at Regina now, who had been smiling as well, and it was so absent, she assumed the brunette didn't even know she was doing it. And now she was staring at her lips again. They were just so kissable.

"I'm hungry." Emma huffed softly and sat up, her eyes sliding over to the small, digital clock on the headboard.

"You always are afterwards," she heard as she read the clock, the time that it had displayed had the blonde stumbling out of bed, tripping over sheets and her teacher's naked limbs. "It's almost sixth period. We should get back."

"Pity," Regina said softly. Emma could feel those eyes boring into her skin, which ultimately froze her and made her turned around to note the small smirk on the brunette's face.  
"Is it?"

"Well, I mean, since we're here and... Mr. Glass will mark you present regardless…"

Emma's brows rose. "Ms. Mills! Are you condoning me to skip class to, dare I say…" then she whispered. "_... have fun_?"

Then that smirk spread across her lips once again, and holy shit, Emma was back on that bed in zero time, all traces of hunger and panic immediately gone.

"Yes." she finally said, leaning forward with one arm by the blonde's naked hip. And before the blonde knew it, the two of them were back on one another in a tangle of limbs, lips attached to skin and hands exploring familiar and aching territory.

After Emma had floated back down to the ground from her third climax, panting in Regina's arms, the two of them lay together with fingers lazily trailing patterns on each other's skin. The brunette had her arm wrapped around the blonde, hand resting on her bicep as the other held onto a pale hand resting on her rapidly rising and falling abdomen.

"Answer me this," Regina's mouth was mere inches away from Emma's ear as she spoke, and the blonde could feel the teacher's warm breath against her skin.

"What is it?" Emma purred.

"Why me? Why… I'm _twenty_ years older than you, Emma. Why haven't you gone for someone your own age instead of trailing after someone so many years senior?" Regina looked genuinely confused. Why was she asking this again? Hadn't they clarified it, or was she having doubts?

When Emma looked into her dark eyes, she could see a hint of fear and that made her heart sink. She was sure the brunette figured this was just some lustful, desire-driven action that the blonde had decided to take. Hell, Emma even thought it was exactly that months ago. But it was something far different because she felt like she just wanted so much _more_.

"Because… I like you. I-I love you. I mean, I must admit that I liked your appearance at first. But after I started having lunches with you, actually after that first day that I stayed behind, I got to know your personality. I got to know a little more about you and I wasn't so threatened. I started to like you and develop some genuine feelings for you. Then we did more and, I don't know, I just found myself falling and quite fast." she answered honestly, her cheeks burning a rosy shade of pink. "Age doesn't really matter to me. I mean, I guess that it's kind of weird that you're so much older than me, but it doesn't matter. If you were eighty and crippled, I'd be there to take care of you and… It just doesn't matter. You know? Love knows no boundaries. And I'm eighteen now, so it's pretty legal."

"Legality has nothing to do with it." Regina murmured softly. "I feel… selfish because you are so young. It is far stranger for me than it is for you. Of course, you won't necessarily be getting looks that are saying 'how loaded is she to get such a hot, young woman on her arm?'"

"Well, honestly, it would be love." Emma shrugged. "How I felt then, how I feel now."

And leave Regina to question her.

"Love? Is that what you had felt?"

"I don't know. I just liked you, like, a lot." She nibbled her lower lip after she finished, because yeah, she really didn't really know her exact feelings back then for her teacher. She really liked the woman and it was so hard to express exactly how she felt. Emma just wasn't prepared to dig into those feelings. She was scared of them because she knew what love could do to a person and this relationship was quite risky enough with her being a student and Regina being a teacher.

But after their relationship had blossomed, and they had advanced, she was quite sure of her feelings and didn't feel so scared of them.

"I see…" Regina seemed to contemplate those words, her head slowly nodding as she accepted them.

"What did you feel?" The blonde tentatively asked.

Regina looked down immediately, eyes on the back of her hand that was still next to Emma's hip. "I'm not sure. I was quite conflicted with my emotions and I didn't know how I should feel. I really shouldn't be feeling anything for you. I-it's just not right. But… I do. I feel something, and it makes me feel so… _light_."

Emma couldn't help but let a small smile upturn her pale lips. She leaned forward and confidently pressed her lips to Regina's. Those words were raw honesty and Emma appreciated that. She appreciated that this woman was just so honest with her, even when they had just started to talk.

"How long?" she asked after pulling away, leaving herself breathless, because, _god_, she could actually taste _herself_ on Regina's lips. And that mixed with Regina's flavor was pure bliss.

"I'm not sure. It was probably a month and half into the school year… When you first opened up to me after staying for lunch. Because, right then, and I don't know why I'm saying this or thinking this, I knew that there was someone that cared about me. Someone that actually _cared_ in a world where people didn't. Perhaps, _then_, I didn't have _these_ exact feelings for you, but that was a turning point. The more we talked… the more you opened up and revealed such maturity...And there was _that_ day with those boys. And despite however I may have scared you that day, you came back. You stayed."

"I stayed." Emma whispered. She just realized how serious this conversation had gotten. Regina was now insecurely huddled in her own bubble instead of fixing to give her another fuck.

She took the time and looked, really looked, at the brunette. It was then that she had noticed how small she looked, and not just because her heels were off and clothes gone. She was a lonely human being, and from what Emma could gather from what Regina had told her, she had been cast out most of her life and never had a genuine friend that stayed. The hope in her eyes now told her that Emma was the only light that she had seen in years in her dark, absent cave of a life, and it was scary because she was so much younger and she was the only one that could see it, or at least the only one that acted upon it.

People were selfish. That's what Emma thought as she scoot closer to the brunette's form and wrapped an arm around her, bringing the nude body close into an embrace. Fingers played with raven strands of hair, sliding through the mussed mess, trying to untangle what she had ruined in the first place.

Regina just collapsed into her arms and, right then and there, Emma knew she would have to hold this woman for the rest of her life. She didn't care what happened or who thought bitterly of their relationship, she would stick by the brunette's side. These were mighty words coming from such a young mind, but she held true to them. Perhaps it was quite early to think these thoughts. Emma didn't care. All she cared was to keep Regina happy and see her smile.

"And I always will." She finally whispered, voicing as much of her thoughts as she could into that simple sentence.

"You won't want me later on, because you'll soon realize what a mistake you've made for going after an older woman, but I don't care. I enjoy your company, dare I say." Regina's voice sounded younger than her years as she spoke. It killed Emma.

"Don't say that. I won't regret _any_ of this. _I_ am not everyone else. _I_ am _me_."

And that's all she had to say to soothe Regina's worries for now. She just snuggled close into the blonde's arms, her head nestling underneath Emma's chin while her arms wrapped tight around her waist.

Emma's eyes closed, her fingers still smoothing through Regina's hair. They sat in this position for a silent few minutes, the blonde's hand roaming over soft, olive flesh as Regina's fingers skittered over Emma's porcelain back, grazing ever so lightly over the angry scratches on her back- a result from a few nights ago when Emma had surprised Regina with a new twist in her methods. Least to say, blood had been spilt and the brunette was noticeably exhausted the next day in school with a sated smile on her lips and a satisfied sparkle in her eyes.

The two had remained with gentle hands exploring soft flesh and fingers curling in locks of hair for what seemed like a relaxed lifetime until they had both jumped to remember that they needed to return to school. They had stayed gone too long, and they were going to get into trouble if they hadn't returned before the final hour.

"We need to go." Regina mumbled against Emma's pale skin. "I have a class to teach seventh. You have to go to art class."

"Yeah…" Emma reluctantly pulled away from the embrace and stood. She quickly donned her clothes once again before running a brush through her tangled curls. Offering the brush to Regina, she ran downstairs to gather their belongings, only to spot their uneaten lunch on the table.

"We forgot about lunch." She heard Regina say behind her. "Shame. I was looking forward to today's surprise."

"Me too. She usually stuffs a note in the bottom of the bag." Emma ended up muttering, picking the food bag up.

Then Regina blinked and looked at her. "She does?"

"Yeah." Emma blushed. "I mistakenly told Belle that I had a crush on you on the first day and, of course, she told Ruby. That's why I so happen to have an extra grilled cheese on the first day. She said something about my girlfriend being hungry and wanting the extra one." And then her cheeks were aflame as well as the pink creeping up her neck.

"Girlfriend, huh?"

"They were just messing around."

"It's no longer a joke, now, is it?" Regina purred, her voice dropping a few octaves into a sexy growl.

"I-I suppose not…" Emma blushed and quickly handed Regina her purse. "Here… We should go. It's less than ten minutes until seventh starts."

The brunette teacher nodded and smirked, taking the bag before turning towards the door. Emma soon followed behind with her backpack slung over one shoulder and a smile spread across her lips.

* * *

"Where the hell were you sixth?" Belle immediately asked upon seeing Emma in the hallway on the way to art class.

Emma blushed as the memories came back to her. She knew exactly where she was and what she had been doing, but she couldn't tell that to Belle. Especially if she couldn't keep her mouth shut. "With Ms. Mills. Lost track of time again." It wasn't a complete lie. It just wasn't the entire truth.

"Uh huh." The brunette quirked a brow.

Emma just shrugged and pulled the door open to the art room, then trudged over to her regular spot. She looked up as Belle just stared incredulously at her.

"What?"

"I thoughts you said Ms. Mills wasn't going to allow you to stay that long."

"Like I said, we lost track of time." Emma shrugged, now unable to keep focus on her friend. Everything else just seemed so interesting all of a sudden.

Belle took the spot next to Emma, laying down their supplies across the table. It didn't take long for her to notice the way the blonde avoided any visual contact. "You smell different."

"What?"

It felt like Emma just ran into a cement wall.  
Fuck.

"Yeah. Usually you smell like apples or, well, nothing. But you smell kind of spicy, like some expensive kind of perfume. And something else…" Belle nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders and, fucking hell, Emma knew exactly what she was doing.

"You're not getting anything out of me." she warned, pointing her pencil at Belle, who tried to feign her innocence.

"I'm not doing anything. You're giving yourself away, Em."

"No I'm not."

"You're acting guilty. Almost… shameful."

"No. No, I'm not."

"Yes you are." Belle then smirked. "Did the walk of shame from her classroom, did we?"

"No. No walk of shame. No shame at all."

"So you do admit it."

"What? I admit nothing! We hugged, maybe. That's it."  
Emma should just shut up, but she couldn't help but to argue with the brunette. Fuck, she had to keep quiet. She couldn't let anyone know.

"God, Em! I'm just teasing you!" The brunette let out a guffaw and shook her head. "You should see the look on your face! It's so hilarious!"

"Shut up, Belle!" She ground her jaw, arms crossing tightly over her chest.

"Fine." She just shrugged and played with a pencil in front of her while the teacher gave instructions on what they were supposed to do next. Something to do with 3D-ing stuff, but Emma wasn't really paying any attention.

"Hey, Em. Wasn't Graham coming down here for the weekend?" Belle finally broke the silence between them. All tension immediately gone at the mention of their male friend.

"Oh, yeah! I think it was supposed to be after midnight, though. He didn't want to interrupt us from our dance… Although I sort of wish he would. What the hell are we supposed to be doing, anyways?"

"Hang out and stuff. We might have a sleepover at Ruby's. Well, at the Bed and Breakfast. Either Graham is going to rent a room or Rubes is gonna convince her granny to let us stay in one for the night." Belle shrugged. "You in?"

"Totally!" Emma nodded enthusiastically. She hadn't seen Graham since the beginning of the year and she was excited about hanging out with him again. Of course, she just wanted to sit back and chill at her house playing on the game station like they usually did, but there was limited time and she was sure her other friends wanted to spend time with him as well.

Emma spent the rest of the period buzzing with excitement. It wasn't long until the final bell had rang and she and Belle were out of there and into the hallway. Earlier that week, Mary Margaret had volunteered to do the girls' hair and makeup. She looked so excited and anxious to do it that Emma didn't want to reject her kind offer. Anyways, she would have a hell of a time doing it herself and if it were her own choice, she'd probably end up going to the dance with her hair down and mussed, without any makeup on.

Belle hadn't minded at all, either, in fact, she was rather pleased to get her hair and makeup done by someone else. She said she wanted to look her best tonight and couldn't afford to look like someone threw a Crayola box at her face and used a bad perm kit on her hair.

Emma had laughed at her because her date was supposed to be Ruby. She didn't exactly understand why Belle wanted so much to impress her when the two were friends. But, then again, the blonde didn't pry in others' lives like they did. She suspected something was up between the two, but had never gave her suspicions away.

As the two headed down the hallway, Emma let her thoughts veer away from the possible fair between her two best friends. Graham was coming down tonight. Luckily, it wasn't until way later, so she should be able to have enough time to sneak away with Regina and dance with her like she had promised. Perhaps they'd even have a little time to do something more. Or they could just talk.

Oh, god, was she as anxious as hell to see Regina tonight. She said she'd be wearing something special for her. Emma immediately jumped to the conclusion that it would be a sexy, leather number, but then she remembered that the brunette would be chaperoning the dance. So it would be something appropriate, but who said that it still didn't have to be sexy? That woman was sex on a goddamn stick. What the hell was Emma talking about? No matter what she wore, looked like, or what have you, she was the most gorgeous woman Emma had ever laid eyes on and would, no doubt, still be sexy as hell.

Regina was especially sexy when she was wearing absolutely nothing at all. Well, except for that smirk on her face that always teased Emma when she would be just far enough out of reach.

_You have to have patience, dear. It is virtue._

She always said that, just before the blonde would pounce on her and take the brunette wherever they were standing. Sometimes they would end up having a quickie in the kitchen on the pristine granite counters. At other times, they would end up on the couch in a hot, make-out session that would soon turn into a round of lovemaking that sometimes brought them upstairs to Regina's bedroom. There was also the rare occasion when they would start out downstairs, but become too hot and heavy as they desperately tried to climb the stairs to the bed and end up having sex against whatever wall they're against at the time of absolute desperation.

"Hey, Swan! You ready for tonight?" Killian's voice interrupted the blonde's voracious thoughts.

Emma blushed, trying to force the dirty thoughts from her mind. Of course it was like him to intervene when she was most taken by her thoughts at the most inopportune- and frustrating- of times. But, perhaps it was for the better. She _was_ getting rather hot and bothered by the brunette teacher's image, embedded into her brain. She would never forget that woman's perfect and flawless olive skin, nor those deep, brown eyes... or that perfect, pearly smile with that delicious, plump mouth and that sexy scar on the right part of her upper lip… or that _tongue_. That talented, talented tongue that had given her so many wonderful climaxes.

Holy shit, was Regina mesmerizing? She was gorgeous as hell and super distracting- Emma had found out the hard way. Sure, she was distracting just to look at- with her dazzling beauty- but she was also rather distracting when she want' in the same vicinity. Every thought that Emma had of that woman had ripped her attention away from whatever the hell was being taught in what class she had at the time.  
And she was unintentionally distracting Emma once again- for the blonde could hear Killian call her name in what seemed like a far off land. She was really out of it.  
"What did you say?" The blonde inquired, emerald eyes lifting up to meet with blue. "I said, are you ready for tonight?" He enunciated, his tone sharper than before.  
"Oh, yeah. Totally. I've got my dress and everything all planned out-"

"Wasn't it the short, black number that Ruby gave you a couple weeks ago?" Then, as if by magic, his entire visage had fallen away to naught but a smile.

"Yeah…" Emma gave him a look of skepticism.

"Awesome. I know what to get you. So, I should be off." Killian flashed a handsome smile that the blonde had tried to return. "So, pick you up at eight?"  
"The dance starts at six-thirty or seven." She quirked a snarky brow. Definitely something she inherited from the brunette teacher and her never ending sass.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll pick you up at seven-thirty So… be ready, because I'm a loaded gun." And with that, he whipped around and waltzed off, leaving Emma to roll her eyes.

"Well, if he isn't a raging ball of hormonal youth, I don't know what is." Belle finally murmured from beside her friend.

Emma grunted and started to head towards the main entrance, weaving and maneuvering through the students who had still crowded the hallways. The two of them stopped short as Emma ceased her movements, eyes wide when they met with familiar, melted chocolate ones. All memories of earlier that afternoon had suddenly flooded her mind and Emma found herself drowned in olive toned sex.

"Re- Ms. Mills! Wh-what is-"

"You left this in my room, dear." The older woman walked the distance between them, arm extended with a red, leather jacket attached at the end. Emma could just _feel_ the immediate sexual tension from earlier occupy the air surrounding them.

Belle looked rather awkward in her position beside Emma. It was a good thing that she didn't know what was going on between them, because the blonde was quite sure that she would jump to conclusions, or at least feel even more awkward than she was, because she might just assume that the jacket wasn't exactly in Regina's classroom, but her actual room instead, and Emma could say it just might not be a lie.

Because Emma _had_ left her jacket in Regina's bedroom last night in haste to get ready to leave. And the brunette had at least mentioned it during lunch, she thought, or some other time beforehand, but the two had left for Emma's apartment and hadn't returned to the room afterwards. Of course, it would be a wise thing to give Emma her jacket after school as she would be walking out of the building.

Or would it?  
Regina _could_ have given it to Emma later that night, or even some other time over the weekend. Hell, Emma wouldn't mind receiving her jacket with Regina wearing it… and nothing else.

_Oh, fuck. Oh, shit. Don't do this to me, brain._

Emma could literally _feel_ the blush burning her cheeks florid.

"Thanks, Ms. Mills." Emma received the piece of leather from the English teacher and shrugged it on.

It smelled of Regina, and it was the most beautiful thing.

"You're welcome, Emma." Her voice was a perfect melody, and the way that she had said Emma's name made it sound like the sweetest love song.  
She was naught but a sap when around Regina, but she knew how to maintain most of it and keep her composure, especially when they were out in public- and more specifically- school.

"Thanks. Again, I mean."

"Because, knowing Emma, she would probably die without that thing." Belle managed to joke, making herself known, as she gazed awkwardly between the two.

Emma giggled to save her and Regina soon joined in, and oh, wasn't it just the most musical thing?  
"Oh, I'm quite sure that she's fond of this… fine jacket. I see that she tends to wear it often." The brunette spoke through her giggles.

"She really does."

"Shut it, will you?" Emma grumbled, cutting her friend off before she could express the next thought on her mind.

"Sorry."  
"I should let you girls off. I am quite sure that you're anxious for the upcoming weekend and tonight's winter formal?" Ms. Mills addressed with a pleasant smile on her lips.  
"Yeah. I heard you were gonna chaperone?" The blonde smirked. She had convinced the brunette earlier on in the week to go to the dance. They could sneak out at some point to have a dance of their own. But the only problem was, was that she hadn't mentioned anything regarding Killian. Hopefully she wouldn't overreact or get angry over it. Regina was Emma's only interest after all, just hopefully the brunette knew that.

"Yes, actually. It was a last minute thing, especially after Ms. Boyd had gotten ill and could not attend." The brunette had the faintest of grins on her face- one that of a certain joy that Emma had sparked upon making that offer. The damned woman could stop grinning like an absolute idiot after her skepticism had fallen away and the blonde's plan was revealed. It took a lot of convincing for her teacher to finally agree to do such a thing. Emma mostly bribed her with kisses, which had landed them in bed for another steamy session of lovemaking. That was enough to turn Regina into putty and break.

Emma could feel the teacher was excited for later that night, because the blonde had promised her a private dance- one that Regina had never gotten when she was younger. Although, the teenager could only wish that they were able to dance together in the gymnasium like everyone else. But the thing was, they weren't like everyone else, and Regina would surely lose her job if they were to slip and do such a thing in front of hundreds, with faculty and staff members amongst them that would surely gossip of their forbidden dance.

Fuck, did she wish they weren't like this.

"Huh, so I suppose I'll see you later?"  
"Indeed." Regina nodded, then turned her attention to the long-haired brunette standing meekly next to the blonde. "Will you be going, as well, Ms. French?"

"Yes, I will." Belle nodded.

"With anyone special?"

"Not really." She muttered. "Ruby said she would go with me."

"Oh, really?" Regina's eyes only slightly widened as she tilted her head, observing the small brunette.

"Yeah…" Belle fiddled with the lace on her yellow top while her bottom lip disappeared into her mouth. "I-"

"We should probably get going. We still have to get ready and I know my foster mother has plans to spruce me up." Emma cut in, sensing the sudden mortification radiating off her friend from Regina's question.

"Indeed you must. I shall see you both later." The teacher offered the two a polite smile, her eyes, though, lingered on the blonde for several heart beats longer than what would be considered safe.

Emma could feel the pleasant shivers sent from the older woman's stare run down her spine and hit every nerve in her body. She was thankful that she had opted to wear her hooded sweatshirt today-as well as the red leather jacket- because she was pretty damn sure her skin prickled with goose bumps, and it was nowhere near cold enough in this building for that as a liable excuse.

"Yeah, see you." Emma said softly, taking Belle by obvious surprise. The brunette knew that she rarely ever talked so politely, so… modest, to anyone- especially a teacher.

Regina nodded and leaned slightly forward, as if she were about to speak. Emma knew what words had been caught on the brunette teacher's tongue- she could see it in her eyes.

But she couldn't express the sparkle- the emotion- there. At least not here, anyways.

"Have a good weekend, girls." She said instead, turning around to saunter down the hallway where she had soon been engulfed in the sea of students.  
"That was weird." Belle immediately muttered her thoughts after the English teacher's departure.

"Yeah, it was." Emma merely shrugged and headed off, once again, towards the exit.

"I mean… Do you still like her?" The brunette inquired, trying her best to keep up with the hastily walking Emma.

"She's become something of a friend through our lunches." The blonde pushed her way through the thinning crowd.

"What do you mean?"  
"I talk to her. She talks to me. Sometimes its personal, but most often, it is nonsense."

"Nonsense."

"Can you stop being nosy?" Emma suddenly stopped and arched a brow at her friend who, in return, halted and donned the visage resembling that of a kicked puppy.

"I-I'm sorry-"

"No, don't be. _I'm_ sorry. I shouldn't have-… it's just that, you know, some things are private and I don't want to blab about stuff. I spoke too much the first time and I know I shouldn't have." Emma sighed and gave Belle a quick hug before slowly proceeding to walk.

"But, I guess, I'd also have to thank you for pushing. If not, I wouldn't have really tested the waters of having lunch with her and we wouldn't be where we are today."

And that was true, because if not for Belle telling Ruby of her crush and Ruby not pressing for her to eat lunc9 with the courtesy of her meals- with Ms. Mills, the two of them wouldn't be where they are in their relationship.

They went from teacher-student acquaintances to lovers. The thought of never reaching this point sent Emma's heart sinking. She didn't like the thought of losing Regina and all of the wonderful feelings she made her experience. She loved that goddamn woman, believe it or not, and she wasn't about to imagine a world without her so quickly. The thought was a depressing one.

"I'm sorry. I should have known better and…"

"Eh, don't worry about it. You helped me, believe it or not." She shrugged it off and turned down her street.

"I did."

"Yeah."

"Okay. Cool." Belle smiled, making her words short, but Emma could see the burning question in her eyes. She must have decided not to pry, especially since the blonde had left it so vague.

The two of them had quickly made their way into Emma's apartment, of course, being immediately greeted by Mary Margaret. She wore a wide smile on her face and held two dressed in her hands. Looking behind her, Emma knew just what was there- the makeup kits.

"You girls ready?"

"As long as we have some good tunes." Emma smirked and made her way over to her foster mother, dropping the messenger bag onto the floor as she shed both jackets.

"Depends on what, dear. We have to make a unanimous decision." Mary Margaret quirked a brow at Emma's bag before gesturing to a free kitchen chair for Belle to take. The brunette did just that as the blonde pulled her phone from her pocket.

"Only because you hate it when I listen to the majority of my playlist. Admit it, Mary Margaret, you hate rock."

"I do not. I simply do not like profanity in some of the music you listen to." She replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well… Cher it is." Emma shuffled through the music on her phone and chose a song. The beat of it filled the silence and had the newly pumped Emma slightly moving to it.

"Awesome, right?"

"One of her new ones?"

'Yeah. And no profanity, so don't worry." The blonde gave her foster mother a wry look.

"Oh, sit you down and let me do your makeup."

"It was just a little joke." Emma feigned a pout as she took the spot next to Belle. She leaned towards her and whispered: "Sorry 'bout my foster mother."

Belle giggled a response. "It's alright. Your bickering is rather entertaining."

"Better than cable?"

"Definitely."

"I can make you girls look like clowns if I want. Need I remind you of who exactly is doing your makeup." Mary Margaret was quick to interrupt Belle's next thoughts. She had quickly donned the same quickly visage that she had earlier.

"Sorry, Mrs. Nolan."

"It's quite alright, Belle." The pixie-haired brunette gave her a reassuring smile, but the same had not been given to Emma when she had turned her attention to the blonde. "Now you on the other hand, young lady…"

"Sorry," Emma let her head drop to stare at the twiddling thumbs on her lap.

But the only response to that was a giggle that had the blonde very nearly flinching. Of course, this laughter was genuine and happy, unlike the cold, cruel cackles that she had received from previous foster parents. She always had a hard time apologizing just because of that. Every time that she even had remotely tried, she always had gotten it thrown back in her face.

They would laugh at her and say that an apology was not enough for whatever small misguidance that she had. That would be before they either punished her with abusive hands or sat her in solitude.

But, Emma had to remind herself, Mary Margaret and David weren't like them. They weren't cruel, nor were they vicious. They were kind, loving, and _warm_. Whatever faulty thing that the blonde may have done, their worse punishment was always a stern talk and perhaps the confiscation of her cellphone for the rest of the day. The blonde could only wonder what the two of them would do if she were to do something far worse that would ultimately push them past their limit. Hopefully, she would never have to find out.

"It's alright, sweetheart." The elementary schoolteacher lay a hand on Emma's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"Okay." The blonde bit her lip, her cellphone held in a tight grip.

"Who wants to go first?"

"Ruby and I wanted to eat at the diner before we went."

"And Killian's picking me up at seven-thirty, so she can go first." Emma shrugged and played with her phone. "I can wait."

"Alrighty, then. Belle, if you could close your eyes for a moment." Mary Margaret instructed, her voice fading as Emma paid attention to her phone's small screen.

She wondered what Regina was doing right now. Was she still at school? Was she home? Was she getting ready for the formal?

_Hey, Gina. What's up?_

The reply was almost immediate, which had the blonde by surprise.

**_Getting ready. Figured to get it done._**

_How far are you?_

The reply this time wasn't so quickly sent. Emma sat at the kitchen table with a bored look, watching as her foster mother buzzed around Belle with a small cosmetic brush.

The blonde sighed softly and slumped in her seat. It was a simple question. Why wasn't she respon-

Her phone buzzed with a new message. When the blonde had checked her status bar on the phone, she had noticed the regular preview had been blank. Blinking slightly, Emma clicked the message and was soon greeted with an image of a mini Regina.

And a very graphic photo of this little Regina inside her phone. The brunette wore nothing but a smile- no, a smirk- and a few scraps of lacy material covering her intimate bits.

Now _that_ was a dangerous photo. Emma bit her lip, mouth salivating as she had continued to stare at perfect, sun-kissed skin. Regina probably shouldn't have sent such a racy photo to the blonde's phone. If anyone ever got a hold of it and flipped through her messages…

She'd have to delete the message. Or wipe the whole thing. Although, perhaps she could somehow save the image and transfer it to a safe device? Later.

"What's got you smiling?" Mary Margaret's voice had caused the blonde to nearly fall out of her seat. That phone's screen was black within seconds and stuffed into her pocket before her foster mother could even take another breath.

"Uh… I-I was just reading about a new episode of my favorite show. It'll be on Sunday night." Emma quickly explained, urging the blush to keep away from her cheeks.

"I voted on porn." Belle was quick to interrupt Mary Margaret as she had begun to speak. "The way you stuck that thing in your pocket so fast like it was on fire. I mean, wow, Em."

_Oh, it was more close to porn than you think, my dear Belle._

"Well, it wasn't. Mary Margaret just scared the shit out of me."

"Language, Emma!" The woman in discussion reprimanded with a stern look, nearly burning the flesh from Emma's guilty face.

"Sorry, I was just saying-"

"You can say it with less profane language, young lady."

"Fu-Je-Chri-Crap! Alright. Shi-Sheesh." Emma slumped back against the kitchen chair. Her back was already creaming, just sitting here. It hadn't even been all that long and all she felt like doing was spouting spiteful language. She didn't have a filter and, god, did she find out the hard way. She just had to be especially careful with what would spill out of her mouth. She grew ip around crass language and her ears were never spared from such crude things.

That's what Mary Margaret didn't understand, unfortunately. It was hard to change an old habit. And, frankly, Emma didn't want to kill her habit. It was a nice one to have, even though her mouth was naught but a potty and could get her into some serious trouble.

"I do not want to hear that kind of language from you again. Okay?"

"No promises. They just slip out, you know?" The blonde shrugged and pulled out her phone to wake it up after the device had gone off again. Must have been Regina, no doubt asking why she hadn't replied. "But I'll try my best."

"Oh, Emma. What am I going to do with you?" Mary Margaret let out a dramatic sigh0 or so Emma thought0 and went back to her station, fixing Belle's hair up.

The blonde withdrew her attention once again and gazed down at the small screen to see the new message that had, in fact, been sent by Regina. It was another picture. This time she was fully clothed in a delicious black number that plunged at the neckline to give a generous amount of cleavage- although an appropriate amount for school- and stopped short of her knees, where her legs were covered by the thin material of pantyhose, and her feet bound in black pumps. She had completed her outfit with a bun in her hair, albeit a few pieces of raven framed her face. She still wore the same makeup from earlier, although touched up, with crimson lipstick and smoky eyes.

She looked absolutely breathtaking- and that was just the picture. Emma could only imagine how stunning she would be in person. The blonde could already smell her spicy perfume- the one that she had become so accompanied with throughout her time spent with the English teacher. Regina's perfume was her favorite scent, and that was for a fact. Whatever else she had claimed for that position could just fuck off.

_Wow. You look so amazing, Gina. Can't wait until I see you._

"It's going to be your turn, soon!" Mary Margaret smiled at her daughter as she continued to stylize Belle's hair.

"It's very relaxing." Belle looked over to Emma, a smile on her face. "Of course, that's just me."

"No, I know. I enjoy it when people touch my hair. Well… When I want them to." The blonde shrugged and sat her phone down next to her on the table as she retrieved a makeup case. Since she'd be wearing that black dress, she figured that she should choose a greyscale pallet, which it seemed that Mary Margaret had few within that color range. Or at least, on this pallet, anyways. That woman have every color imaginable. Well, at least, she had a designated pallet of colors for each outfit and then some. It came in handy when there was a difficult outfit to paint your face for. Emma had a few conflicts in the past with this, but Mary Margaret always seemed to pull through and give the blonde _the_ perfect look.

"Why don't you go put that dress on while I get a start on Emma?"

The blonde looked up at the mention of her name just in time to see Belle nod and stand up from her seat. She grabbed the lavender gown that Mary Margaret had handed her and headed towards the bathroom.

"Now, it's your turn." The sort-haired brunette made her way over to Emma, a brush in hand. "I'll do you hair first to get it out of the way. I don't want to accidentally color your hair."

"Alright." Emma nodded at her foster mother's words and gathered her phone up after it had buzzed with a new message once again.

"You can't have that thing while I'm doing your makeup." Mary Margaret put a fist on her hop.

"Yeah, I know. I'll be done after this." She muttered, trying to read the text on her screen with a smile. Her foster mother had gotten close to her now, she could feel it, and the brush tangling in her blonde curls proved her proximity.

Emma sucked her lower lip into her mouth and kept her phone close to her. She couldn't risk Mary Margaret seeing the picture that was still showing. Her message and the one that Regina had sent-excluding the second photo- had the nearly nude one gone. Which, at least, was luck enough.

"Are you texting someone?" The brunette asked as she had brushed tangles from Emma's blonde mane.

"Yeah. Still haven't got to read it, yet."

"You should do that. I'm not stopping you."

Emma nodded and chuckled softly. She had been so worried about Mary Margaret seeing Regina's picture that she hadn't read the last message yet ad the pixie-haired woman could very well see her screen.

_Idiot._

So, she did just that and read the message. Might as well hurry so the risk wasn't so high.

**_Why, thank you, dear. I simply cannot wait, either. Why don't you let me pick you up?_**

"Oh, shit." Emma couldn't help but to mutter.

"What is it, dear?"

"Uh, nothing. I just, it's just this message. It's dine." The blonde shrugged and quickly started to type in a response.

_Can't. MM's doing my hair and makeup right now._

She hit send and bit her lip. She should probably tell her about Killian, as well. The excuse that she had made up wouldn't entirely suffice, because the brunette could still very well offer to pick her up afterwards. And, Regina would be at the dance, after all. She would see Killian with her…

_And I'm getting picked up. Killian asked me to the dance and I felt bad if I were to reject him. It's not like anything's going to happen. I love YOU, and nobody else. (family and friends excluded). _

"Your hair is so beautiful. I wish mine was like that sometimes, but your mom did such a wonderful job with mine." Belle's accent echoed from behind Emma, who had rolled her eyes.

"My hair's a beast. It hates me half the time."

"That's why you tame it."

"I've tamed enough beasts in my life." Emma nonchalantly shrugged and slumped once again in her chair, but Mary Margaret had told her to straighten up, in which she abided with a groan.

"Well, you've got more."

"No."  
Belle huffed and stuck her tongue out at the blonde. "Do I look stupid?"

"Yes."

"You look beautiful, dear." Mary Margaret smiled.

"With tongue and all?"

Emma snorted. "Oh, I'm sure Ruby would like that."

"Emma Swan!"

"We're just friends." Belle's face had developed a florid color at the statement and she fidgeted in her spot as if she told a lie.

"Sorry. Just making a joke." The blonde gave her friend a skeptical quirk of the brow.

"Just… shut up."

"Hey, you look pretty, Belle. Beautiful. Ruby will agree, I'm sure. Just don't yell at me again." Belle have her a wry smile.

"Answer your phone." She muttered and sat in the chair next to Emma.

"Shit. It went off?" The blonde quickly looked down at her phone to not that, sure enough, there was a new message from Regina. Her stomach did flips. What was she going to say about that?

**_Oh, I see… I suppose that is alright as long as you keep your promise to dance with me, my love. My eyes will be on you all night, knowing that you are mine. I will not let him take that away from me. Remember, that, Emma. Remember that I love you, too._**

"Who are you talking to?" Belle's voice had interrupted the momentary trance that she had been in upon reading the sweet message from the high school teacher.

"What?"

"You're smiling like an idiot again." She chuckled and pointed at Emma's face, looking up at Mary Margaret who wore a humored grin.

"You are, Emma. Who is it?" The pixie-haired woman stopped her work and tilted her head to give the blonde a questioning arch of the brow. "Do you have a boyfriend, Emma?"

That had Emma giving her foster mother a double take. Always. She always pressured her to get a boyfriend for whatever inane reason she sought fit. Maybe Emma should have told her parents that she wasn't exactly attracted to the opposite sex. Perhaps, then, would Mary Margaret stop bothering her about getting a boyfriend.

"No, I can honestly say that I don't." Emma replied, the internal debate storming within her mind. She wanted so much to tell Mary Margaret right now. But who would she suspect Emma was dating?

Would she think Belle?

Although, she _had_ told her that Killian were to pick her up later. And Belle would be leaving with Ruby quite soon as well.

Maybe she wouldn't go that route? Maybe she would think that Emma had finally been fed up with the boyfriend questions. But, Emma didn't know if she could even bring herself to utter those words to her. There was something in her gut, pulling her back. And she knew exactly what it was.

"Oh, then who it is?"

"No one. Nothing." Emma mumbled, hiding behind her phone as she hastily tried to reply back to Regina.

_I know, babe. I'll be keeping my eyes on you, too. But I gotta go right now. Everyone's hounding me on who I'm texting because I can't stop smiling like an idiot. See what you do to me, Regina? Fuck… Do I ever love you? Anyways, see you later, okay? _

"Oh, bull! You're totally talking to someone."

"So? It's my own personal business. I don't have to share." The blonde quickly slipped her phone into her pocket and say back against the chair.

"Why don't you do my makeup, please, so we'll be done with that? I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's making me feel uncomfortable and I do not wish to expose who I am currently talking to. Thank you."

"I'm sorry, honey…" Mary Margaret frowned and grabbed one of the makeup kits to get a start on her daughter's face.

"Calm down. I'm sorry, too. I guess I know what it's like to want privacy." Belle shrugged, her blush crawling up her neck like a rapidly burning fire whose flames lick up the trunk of a tree is what had given her away. Emma suspected she knew what her brunette friend was referring to, but opted not to bring it up.

"It's alright, guess. _I'm_ sorry for overreacting like that. I just don't feel comfortable with telling you who I'm talking to. May one day, I will."

"Maybe one day?" The long-haired brunette squished her brows together as she leaned towards the blonde. "What if that day never comes."

"Oh, it will. Trust me. You'll know when I tell you." Emma met Belle's eyes and let a slow smirk spread across her pink lips.

"Close your eyes, please." Mary Margaret whispered. She had been listening to Emma, she was sure. Now she'll have the schoolteacher jumping down her throat with anxious questions about her new revelation.

Shit.

Emma gave an internal sigh and closed her eyes. Why were the people around here so goddamn nosy? Regina seemed to be the only one so far that hasn't bugged her with futile questions that only pried and made the blonde angrier than she had been before. She could probably lash out like she usually did, which ultimately never ended well for any party.  
That was another reason why she loved Regina so much. That woman was quite similar to herself, and knew exactly when to stop when, or if, things got too far.

Just the thought of the brunette had Emma's heart squeezing in her chest. She felt that familiar longing to be near Regina again and to just _hold_ her. Unfortunately, it would be a while longer until she would be able to do just that. But that hadn't bothered her any. At least she would be able to see Regina tonight, which just the thought of it had sent her heart soaring.

Soon enough, after Emma had gotten lost in thought of Regina, Mary Margaret had finished up with the blonde's makeup. She also had soon witched to the black dress and found a pair of black leggings to wear underneath the short material, also donning her red leather jacket to cover up the exposed flesh on her upper half.

Belle had left about an hour after Mary Margaret had finished Emma's makeup, a smile on her face as she climbed into Ruby's car. Emma couldn't help but to wonder what exactly was going on between those two. The way that her friend had reacted upon the little joke about the waitress had really thrown the blonde off. Of course, it shouldn't have all too much since she had already suspected something months ago when the two had seemingly hung out nonstop. Whatever it may be- or may have been- Emma didn't mind one bit. In fact, she'd cheer their gay little asses on.

But, for now, she's got to get _her_ gay little ass off to the dance. Killian had arrived only moments ago and was current waiting- while being berated with questions by Mary Margaret0 in the living room as Emma had slipped on her boots and jacket.

When she walked back downstairs to take off, Mary Margaret was holding a camera and wearing a large- if not devious- smile.

"Why don't you go stand next to Killian and I'll take a picture?"

"Okay…" Emma grumbled, doing just that. Really, she shouldn't be taking a picture like this with _him_. It should be Regina standing beside her. Maybe she could convince the brunette to take a picture with her later.

"Smile!"  
The smile on Emma's face couldn't be any more fake. Unfortunately, Killian looked just as happy as he could be. That stuck a needle into Emma's heart. She felt rather bad for leading him on like this, and for as long as it had been. She should have told him when they first met- or at least when he first started to show interest in her.

She _will_ have to tell him. Tonight. After they had a dance or two or whatever the hell goes down at these things. She tended to avoid social and school events. They bored her and there were usually far too many people for her liking.

"And we're off. Thanks mom." Emma gave Mary Margaret a soft smile before rushing to the door. The faster she's out of here, the sooner she'll be able to see Regina.

On their way there, she could just feel the guilt eating away at her. The happily chatting teenage boy next to her was completely clueless to her agenda and everything else about her.

_I should probably tell him before I run off with Regina…_

That would be the best route. Or perhaps a bit before. Tonight would be the inevitable, regardless. He probably wouldn't want to talk to her ever again, anyways.

"How are you?" Killian interrupted Emma's thoughts and pried emerald eyes away from the sidewalk ahead of them.

"Good," she answered. "You?"

"Just good? Aren't you excited to go to the dance?"

"Not really. It's not my thing."

"Then where'd you get the dress?" He stopped in his tracks and pointed to the little black number that Ruby had gifted her for her birthday.

"Ruby." She shrugged and continued to walk, forcing the brunette boy to follow. "Birthday, remember? She already planned out my demise. And I told you earlier about this."

"Oh, yes. _That_." Killian chuckled. "I couldn't picture you in a dress. Especially that one."

"Oh, hardy har har."

"No offense, Swan, but you aren't all that girly." He playfully bumped her side, whispering something that froze her.

The statement was absolutely true, she had never been one for dresses, although she could pull them all off rather well. But what he had whispered after bumping into her had the blonde at a stand-still.

"You gay or something?"

"It was meant as a joke, but I suppose you can't take one." He crossed his arms and stood in front of her, a bushy brow arched curiously.

"Yes."

"Yes? You can't take a joke?"

"No."

"No, what? You can or you can't?"

"Neither. I mean yes. No, I mean no. I can take a joke, but… Fuck, you're causing me a migraine." Emma wiped her hands down her face and started towards the school again at a slow pace.

"Then what are you talking about? You're pretty, but you're confusing as hell."

"That earlier statement."

"What? That you don't seem to be a dress girl or that you aren't girly?" Killian took the few steps to catch up with the blonde, his face crinkling with confusion when she had shook her head with a negative reply.

"Then what? That joke about you being…"

"Yes…" Emma finally sighed, her eyes focused on the students gathered outside the high school, chattering away.

"So you're… Then why did you let me take you to the dance? Or are you just pulling my leg?" The two of them finally had entered the building and very slowly made their way down the hallway as Emma explained.

"No, I'm not joking. I didn't… really want to make you feel bad if I rejected you for no reason. I just... I don't like telling people. There are too many that would judge." The blonde stopped by the gymnasium's door and leaned against it, looking into his light eyes. "My foster parents don't even know."

"All this time…"

"Yeah. I was just humoring you."

"You're a bitch." The smile on his face was the only think that had told Emma that he was joking. "You'll owe me a dance for this. Make that two, actually."

"Fine. Deal." Emma shrugged and helped open the door to the gym. Loud music immediately blared through their ears. "Get your ass I there if you wanna dance, 'cause I am not doing this again."

"I know when to accept an invitation." He chuckled, surging forward into the room, rushing passed the clusters of students dancing to the obnoxious music.

"Also, I'm going to be running off…" Emma had started to explain, but her eyes caught sight of a brunette standing on the other side of the room, talking with a group of teachers, all of which had little plastic cups of punch in their hands.

_Regina_.

She looked even more stunning than in that picture that she had sent. Now all was left was to see what she looked like without that dress on. The image of the woman wearing nothing but the lacy undergarments had flitted through Emma's mind and now all she could picture was Regina wearing just that.

"Swan? Are you alright?" Killian quirked a brow and stood in front of the blonde, waving a hand in front of her face. When she blinked and shook her head, trying to snap back to reality, she could see his gaze drift from her to the group of teachers.

"Who are you checking out over there?"

"No one." Emma quickly denied. "Come on. Let's dance."

"No, seriously. What's over there?"

"Nothing."

He was still looking over there by the time Regina had broken contact from the crowd and gazed across the room to lock eyes with Emma, a smile breaking out across her face. Then those whisky eyes moved to Killian and quickly averted towards the teachers once again.

"Ms. Mills?"

"What?"

"Do you fancy her?"

"I'm not telling you anything." The blonde shrugged and backed away to head towards the middle of the gym where the students were dancing. Killian followed behind her with his question in the air around him.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because." Emma tapped her foot to the beat of the music. "Just dance, dude. You wanted to and if you wait too long, I'll just walk away."

"Fine."  
"How the hell are we supposed to dance to this, anyways?" Emma watched as he shrugged across from her and stood there, his own foot tapping in time with the blonde's.

"I don't know, but I think this song's almost over. Everyone's slowing-"

"TIME FOR SLOW-DANCING." Emma could hear a man's voice booming through a microphone. The upbeat music had suddenly halted and was soon replaced with a slow-moving song. Most of the students left the 'stage' while couples remained, and a few others joined.

The blonde stared with incredulous eyes at Killian who wore that same, wicked smile on his face and twinkle in his eyes. He was all too happy for this, while Emma wished she could just shoot herself. She wasn't much for dancing or contact with others, and with this, she had to do both. With _him_.

She had to admit, he was a rather nice and sweet guy, but he was also what Belle had described him as earlier: a hormonal ball of youth. He was flirty as hell and, despite what Emma had told him earlier, he seemed to be rather anxious to get his hands on her. And so he had, placing one hand on her back and the other on her hip. Emma, on the other hand, had placed both hands on his shoulders, trying her best not to touch him _too_ much, if that were possible.

"Why couldn't we just wait until a different song came up?" Emma muttered, having to force herself closer to mutter the words into his ear.

"Because you owe me a dance. And I don't want to wait. You said you were going to run off anyways." He smirked down at her and she was just about to smack that damned thing off his face.

"Oh, just shut up and let's dance."

Because she wanted this over with as soon as possible. She just _hated_ doing something like this. It was so utterly ridiculous and she couldn't believe that she was dragged into such a goddamn mess. Trying to occupy her mind, she oh so subtly changed their positions so she could keep an eye on Regina, who was still chatting away with the teachers.

Good for her. She was socializing, Emma thought. She had never seen the teacher actually talk with others all her time here. It was nice to know that she was doing it now. But the way that she seemed to fidget at times, the blonde could tell that she didn't like it as much as it had appeared. She wanted as much to get away from this scene as Emma did, and the way that she drew her attention away from the group every so often told her so.

And when she did it again, she came into eye contact with Emma, who flashed her a crooked smile. It had, in return, earned her a small, but sweet one, but there was something else holding her back and the blonde could see that. She couldn't quite place what it was, but what she was giving Emma wasn't all of what she had.

Then Emma felt something touch her ass and give it a shameless squeeze. She growled in Killian's ear and pulled slightly away to look into those oceanic eyes. He gave her a hopeful smile before leaning forward, causing Emma to stare at him with wide eyes. He wouldn't dare.

But it was inevitable. She had taken too long to pull away and he had obviously used her stillness as an invitation, because the next thing she knew, Killian's lips were on her own and his scruffy beard was unpleasantly scratching her chin. The hand on her behind had taken the liberty to squeeze the round flesh again.

It had taken a second to gather her wits, but as soon as her brain had flicked back on, Emma was pushing at his chest with one hand and taking a step back. Luckily, Killian had abided and released the blonde with an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry…"

"Yeah, you better be. What the fuck was that?"

"You… I thought you-"

"Has everything I said go over your head?" Emma narrowed her eyes and gave him the most intimidating glare that she could muster. "Maybe in a different life I would have wanted to kiss you. But not this one. I'm sorry, Killian."

"No. _I'm_ sorry." He sighed.

Emma shook her head and gazed passed the teenager to the group of teachers. Regina was gone.

"Fuck. I gotta go."

"I'm sorry!"

The blonde waved a hand at him as she marched towards the back exit where she had seen a shadow just moments ago. The door had clicked shut by the time she had reached it.

"Fuck!" Emma pushed the door open and made haste to exit, but one of the staff members had departed from the group to grab her arm.

"You can't exit that way."

"I just saw someone go through here. I need-"

"I'm sorry, but you can't." He didn't look the least bit of sympathetic as he pulled her back.

Emma struggled in his grasp, trying so desperately to break free. She needed to get to Regina before she left. She couldn't just let her go. But this stupid fuck of a teacher wouldn't let her go.

"Come on! Just let me go!" She could feel her throat constricting as she spoke. Her eyes were beginning to glisten. "I need to go! You don't understand!"

"I can't let you through." The man shook his head, leaving Emma to sigh and give her attempts a rest.

"Good. There's an exit over there that you can use." He pointed towards the door that Emma had entered earlier, which so happened to be across the entire gymnasium.

"Fine…" she could have wept when he released her arm as she had trudged a few steps away from the exit. When he had turned to head back towards the crowd of teachers, Emma hastily scrambled to the door once again, this time succeeding as she slipped through the exit. The teacher was shouting after her, but she couldn't hear him. She was too focused on sprinting down the hall in search of Regina. There was absolutely no clue of where she would have gone. She could have gone home, for all Emma knew.

The blonde hastily walked down the halls, head whipping back and forth to peek into each room. All that had come up empty. And when she had passed down the English hallway, Regina's room was as dark as can be. Just to be sure, Emma quickly walked towards the door and tried for the handle. It was locked.

"Fucking hell." The blonde growled and made her way down the hall once again. Where was Regina going to be? She wouldn't just go home, would she? Would she?

Then she heard it, as she passed the gym's doors as she made her way there. It wasn't Regina's voice, but a couple of girls gossiping outside the door.

"Did you go into the girl's bathroom?" One of them spoke urgently to a redhead.

"What? No. Why?" The redhead replied, tilting her head with green eyes focused on the brunette in front of her.

"There's someone in one of the stalls."

"Oh, congratulations! You know that people actually use the restroom." The redhead sarcastically enthused.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "No! I meant there was someone crying. I didn't see who it was, but I could hear them sniffling."

"Which bathroom?" Emma suddenly moved to stand between the two of them. She usually never interrupted others' conversations, but this was her only lead on Regina right now. Maybe that was her. And if it was, oh god, Emma felt like utter shit for making the older woman cry. _Again_.

"Who the fuck are you?" The brunette narrowed her eyes.

"No one. Just tell me what bathroom."

"Do you know who it is?" The redhead queried, a gentle look in her eyes.

"Possibly. But it's kind of urgent if so. So, please."

"It's the one nearest to the gym. Where else?"

"Thanks." And Emma was off, leaving the two of them to continue with their gossip. Hopefully this was Regina and hopefully she would still be in there.

Oh, god, what had she done? It was a bad idea to come to the dance with Killian. She should have just rejected him like she had planned if not for the insistence of her friends- which she hadn't seen _at all_ upon her arrival.

After hastily making her way down the hall, squirming passed the people loitering in the hallways and talking about the mysterious girl in the bathroom, she had soon arrived in front of the girls' restroom. A few people stood outside, whispering to one another. The blonde scowled at them and made her way into the bathroom. There were a couple girls inside as well, touching themselves up in the mirror.

Emma slowly walked up beside them and pretended to fluff her hair all the while checking each stall in the mirror. Every stall appeared to be empty, each door slightly ajar to cross off the list. Dammit.

Then her eyes landed on the final stall door, which was completely shut. Emma could see the shadow of a being ghost across the tiles. Was that her? If only she could see the shoes that she wore…

And to get these two girls out of the bathroom because she was running out of things to do in front of this mirror and she was starting to look like an idiot just standing there, staring at herself.

"Can you believe that?" One of the girls' voice asked, loud and squeaky.

"No!" The other replied as the two of them pushed away from the sinks.

"It's so crazy, isn't it?"

"I know!"

"Why would someone do that?"

"I don't know!"

Emma wrinkled her brows and slowly inched her way closer to the closed door at the far end of the bathroom. What the hell were they talking about again? She hadn't necessarily been paying attention. Her main focus was on trying to find Regina.

"Uh! I can't _believe_ that someone would use a hook."

_What the fuck?_

Their voices faded away as they left the bathroom, leaving Emma alone with whoever was in that stall. She really hoped that it was Regina or else she was absolutely fucked. Who knows what it would turn out like if she were to knock on that stall and someone else would be in there?

Maybe she could call her? Or text. If she hears a phone go off- which she hoped that Regina would have hers on her- then she would definitely know that it was her. So she whipped her phone from her jacket pocket and quickly thumbed through to find Regina under her messages.

_Regina?_

Send.

Then she heard a soft buzzing coming from the stall behind her.

"Regina?" She whispered, slowly walking towards the closed metal door.

"Just leave me alone." Her voice was huskier than usual. She really had been crying.

"Come on, Gina. Please…" The blonde slowly lifted her arm and rest the palm of her hand flat on the stall door. "I-I didn't mean…"

"You didn't mean, what? To kiss him?" Regina growled and banged against the door, reverberating the metal against Emma's hand.

"You said you wouldn't! You promised, Emma, _and you broke it!_"

"But _he_ kissed _me_, Regina!" The blonde sighed and laid her forehead against the metal. "I didn't want it."

"Always the likely story! It sure as hell looked like you did. You even _moved_ like you wanted to do it." Her voice started to falter, the next words coming from her mouth were but a mere whisper. "You lied to me."

"I wasn't expecting that he was going to do that. Please, Regina. Hear me out."

"No! Emma, you've… You've really hurt me. And you lied. I was watching you."

"And if you were watching me, you should have seen me push him away."

"But you didn't move away when he was going to kiss you." Regina's heels could be heard clacking against the white tile. The sound of the lock echoed in the room, but the door didn't open. "You could have. You had enough time."

"I…"

"Do you even have anything to say about that? Anything to defend yourself with?"

"I… I wasn't… He was just moving… and… I couldn't… I…"

"Yes. I do understand where you are getting at." Regina let the stall door swing open, causing Emma to fall forward with a slight flail before she gathered herself and stood up straight. That's when she got a good look at the woman in front of her. "You _have_ no excuse. _You_ let him kiss you. It was all _you_, Emma." She continued as the blonde observed her, frowning at the words that she had spoken.

The once perfectly painted makeup around her eyes was now smeared down her cheeks like a black waterfall. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her nose runny, for Emma could hear her sniffle every now and again.

"Oh, Gina…" Emma stepped forward, bringing a hand up to touch the brunette's cheek, but she turned her head and stepped back, bumping into the porcelain toilet.

"Don't. I just want to be alone." Her eyes were glued to the ground, her head slightly lowered and body hunched.

"Please… Just let me explain. _Nothing_ is going on between us."

"You do not show it well enough." Regina slowly moved forward and slipped passed the blonde, her heels slowly clicking on the floor as she moved towards the door.

"Regina…" Emma followed after her. "We need to talk. Please let me explain."

"I…" Regina paused and turned around, her eyes glimmering with tears and her lips trembling as she spoke. "I need some time… I need time. Please, give it to me. I cannot do this right now…"

"Regina, I love _you_…" Emma reached forward, her hand successfully resting on Regina's shoulder. The brunette met emerald eyes, pleading with all her might. A soft sigh slipped from her lips as she let an olive toned hand rest upon the teenager's and gave it a squeeze. The blonde gave her a tentative smile.

"Don't." And with that simple word, Emma's entire world came crashing down around her. Regina removed the blonde's hand from her shoulder and slowly turned towards the door. Neither spoke as the brunette made her way out of the bathroom, leaving Emma alone with a numb heart.

What the fuck just happened?

What did she just do?

Why was she such a fucking idiot?

Emma could feel the tears start drawing themselves to her eyes, her heartbeat thumbing at a rapid pace and her breath becoming shallow. Her heart had a terrible ache to it. It felt as if someone had stuck their hand inside her chest and was squeezing the hell out of that damned muscle. That stupid muscle that got her into this in the first place.

She loved Regina, she _loves_ Regina, and now she had probably just let the woman slip right through her fingers from some stupid choice. She should have never taken Killian up on that offer. She should have never let him dance with her. Especially during a slow song. She just should have never done anything at all.

The blonde had found herself in the same stall that Regina had locked herself in. She did the same, taking a seat on the toilet and burying her face into her hands. Everything just hurt so much right now. Sorrow had taken over her entire body, everything aching as her regrets slid down her cheeks and arms through crystalline drops.


	17. Living in Hell

**A/N: Please don't lynch me for that last chapter! I surprised even myself by writing that ending. I had different, non-depressing, plans for it and suddenly I'm getting one idea right after the other. I sort of did this same for this chapter (although in a good way). Things will get better, I promise. **

**Thank you all for the lovely reviews! And thank you for those who have given me some suggestions! I may not use them exactly as you give them, but they do give me a lot of inspiration, so I really do appreciate them just as I do with your opinions! You can give them to me any time that you wish, although I do not want you to feel obligated to do anything. But if you wish, you can leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter! **

**Also, I would like to say that I do not own the lyrics that I have put into this chapter (I'm sure you can spot them in the italics). They are from the song "Favorite Scars" by Cher. I also do not own the video games mentioned, they go to their rightful owner.**

**And apparently I should add a trigger warning here for some events that occur in the chapter. (I'm still rather dumb with all these things on the internet, so I really had no clue what that was even supposed to mean. I don't keep up with stuff like that.)**

* * *

_Love covers you up in a landslide_

_Love pulls you under like a riptide_

_Love's when you crash trying to hang glide_

_Love's when you run and then there's no light_

* * *

Emma hadn't kept long in the stall. She didn't want to also be dubbed as that mysterious crying chick in the last stall. Anyways, it didn't feel all that private here, what with several girls constantly filing in and out of the restroom to check their hair and makeup, or chatter to one another about their dates. Useless information that Emma could definitely live without, but would have to wait and listen through until they would leave.

And, finally, after an agonizing ten minutes, the last group of girls left and gave the blonde enough free time to get the hell out of Dodge. She had made sure whatever makeup she had on was gone and exited the bathroom with enough haste to put a Cheetah to shame.

Now, the next task at hand was to get past her parents' questioning and any risk of them noticing her puffy eyes. Perhaps, if she were to walk slowly enough, the swelling would go down and she could avoid such problems. But, it was just her luck as she stepped outside and could feel the familiar pull on her eyes with a blur in her vision.

_Just walk quickly, _she advised herself, walking as fast as her legs could carry her. The happenings of tonight were all too much for the blonde. Her idiocy and Killian's goddamn persistence were enough to tip her over the edge and hurt not just one, but two, people in the process. Why did she ever allow him the satisfaction of believing that he had won her over? And why hadn't he accepted what she had said?

Was he really just so dense, or did he not believe her?

Whatever the reason for his actions, Emma could not forgive him. Those very actions had hurt the person that the blonde had cared for the most and, worst yet, resulted in something that may never be fixed.

But maybe that was just Emma's overemotional mind speaking at the moment. All Regina needed was time, and the older woman had said so herself. The blonde could understand that, but she still wished that Regina had at least listened to what she had to say. She was so quick to reject any excuse that Emma had tried so desperately to utilize, which had wounded her so deeply. Why would she do that? Why wouldn't she listen?

Regina was always the most reasonable. Of course, she was the oldest of the couple and should have at least known better to at least accept what the blonde had to say to defend herself. But she didn't. And she _just left_, never returning that 'I love you' that Emma had tried so hard to pour every ounce of her emotions into. She truly loved that woman, and it had only grown every minute they spent together.

But the way that she had never dared to say anything back… The way that she didn't want to listen to what Emma had to say… The way that she just _rejected_ her arose many questions that the blonde wasn't so sure that she wanted answered. They made her heart just _ache_ and squeeze in her chest so _painfully_. It was like a thousand needles pressing into her, pinning her to the harsh realities of life and the true meaning of heartbreak.

It hadn't even been an hour since, but that was enough to feel like a lifetime. It was enough to bring the blonde's entire world around her, crashing, breaking at her feet. Short memories clouding her mind, both significant and not, playing on repeat. Each a turning point in their relationship, that Emma had dubbed to be rather major.

Meeting Regina was the first. Then their first lunch. Their first real talk. The first time that Regina had brought Emma home, and the events beforehand in the diner. Their first kiss, that special night in the Mercedes, parked in front of her apartment. The first time she had ever gone to Regina's, and their first date there. And then the trip to Boston and every special event that happened there; their first time being the one that stuck in Emma's head the longest.

Especially when they first said-

"Honey, what's wrong? You look like you've been crying." Mary Margaret's voice pulled Emma from her thoughts. The blonde hadn't even realized that she had made her way upstairs and into the apartment until she took a good look around. It was like she hadn't noticed that she had stopped crying, and a while ago, too, telling by the dried tears on her face. It wasn't like she had cared, anyways.

"I'm fine." Emma shrugged and tried to push past her foster mother. She could feel the urge to break down and cry rising with every breath. It always seemed to happen when she had such an emotional thought on the brain while others were talking to her. Usually it was only with Mary Margaret or David. It must have been that internal urge to confide and get comforted by someone close to her.

God, did she hate that urge.

"You aren't fine. Something's wrong. Please, Emma." The pixie-haired woman pleaded, but it was David who had pulled her back, letting the blonde escape towards the kitchen.

Emma tried her best to keep from any eye contact with the two of them as she shuffled through the fridge and pulled out a small container of kumquats before running off upstairs. As she ascended each step, she could hear the two of them urgently talking to one another- no doubt about her questionable state.

She didn't care. She cared about nothing at the moment. All she wanted was Regina. But the brunette appeared to not want her. And that had only pulled Emma deeper into that pit that she absolutely despised. It was what she had tried to avoid at all costs and had never seemed to have a problem with it since meeting Regina.

But, now, she was spiraling back down the mountain that she had tried so hard to climb. That ray of sunshine that spoke to her through the inky blackness of the cave she resided had disappeared, leaving everything to close in around her.

She hated being trapped.

"But does it really matter?" The blonde muttered to herself, pulling her phone from her jacket pocket before tossing the article of clothing aside. She checked the messages, just in case.

_Nothing_.

"Please, Regina…" Emma looked at her phone expectantly before quickly pulling up the new message screen and typed something in.

_I know that you're angry at me and I know that you want time… But, please, Regina. I really want to talk to you. I want to explain. I'll give you all the time that you need, just please… respond to me._

But, upon reading what she had written, she deleted it. That sounded too damned desperate, for sure. She'd probably only turn Regina away if she were to send that message. Maybe she should just wait? After all, the teacher had said that she wanted time…

Tossing her phone aside, she lay back against her bed and sighed, placing the container of small fruit on her stomach and dug her pocket knife out of her nightstand drawer. She must wait. She needed time.

_Time._

Time was an enemy, and Emma's worst. She hated it more than anything, especially when it forced her to wait for something that she did not necessarily want to have to wait for. It was a ridiculous concept. Time. Stupid.

But that was the only thing to do to pass the time and not think of the things that would bring tears to her eyes. Insulting time.

Well, it was working for a few minutes, until she had gotten bored of insulting time and began to think of that goddamn woman. How could she be so stupid as to let her go like that? How could she be so stupid to go with Killian to the dance? She only had regrets. She regretted going to the Winter Formal at all. She regretted not moving away from that kiss fast enough. She regretted letting Regina go out that door without her being able to fully explain herself. She regretted ever staying for lunch with Ms. Mills.

No.

No, she didn't regret that. There was no possible way that she would regret ever choosing the path of the only pure joy that she had ever experienced. How could she even think about regretting doing something like that? It must have just been her mind and the bitterness of the kumquats controlling her brain.

She set the container aside and closed her eyes. What was there to do to pass the time? What amount of time was sufficient enough to contact Regina?

"Emma?" A masculine voice called from the doorway to her bedroom.

The blonde's eyes popped open, head whipping to the side, to see David standing there with a tentative look in his blue eyes.

"May I come in?"

"If you want the kumquats back, they're on my nightstand." Emma tossed onto her other side and brought the blanket beside her over her head.

"Emma, what's wrong?" He asked, though his voice calm and soft. The blonde could hear footsteps as he made his way across the room to her bed. "It will make you feel better if you say it."

"No, it won't." Emma grumbled, curling up in her spot and tugging the covers tighter against her. "Nothing will make me feel better."

"What happened, honey?" There was a dip in the mattress as he perched on the edge of the bed, causing the blonde's body to slightly roll towards him.

Emma sighed and brought the blanket down, resting it underneath her arms as she gazed up at her foster father with large, green eyes- shimmering with unshed tears. "I fucked up."

"You fucked up how?"

"I hurt someone that I really care about without meaning to. I-it was someone else's fault, but sh- they didn't see all of what happened… And… A-and I fucked up, David. I fucked up so badly…" Emma turned into the man's arms as the tears building up upon his arrival had sprung free, a terrible sob ripping from her throat.

"Oh, baby…" David held the blonde close, a hand caressing the back of her head. "I'm here… Emma, I'm here for you."

The blonde hadn't dared to respond. She couldn't. Instead, she squeezed him tighter, his musky cologne filling her senses as she buried her face in his shirt. It wasn't long until Emma could hear another pair of feet journey up the stairs, urgently moving as soon as they had hit the landing. Soon enough, the weight of Mary Margaret had dipped the mattress further down, and another set of arms were around Emma.

"What happened?"

"I don't know…" David's response was a whisper. The blonde had now calmed for the most part, although she couldn't help the soft sobs that escaped every so often into her father's shirt. "She said that she had… screwed up. Something about her hurting someone by accident, but it was someone else's fault? That's all I got out of her."

"Oh, my darling…" Mary Margaret's lips pressed soothing kisses against blonde locks. "It'll all be alright, Emma…"

"You don't know that…" Emma's voice was muffled against David, but the woman must have heard her clear enough.

"And why not?"

"Because I _fucked_ up everything. Up the ass, mind you. With a cactus. Covered in _sandpaper_."

"Emma!"

"It's true! There's no coming back from this." The blonde pushed away from her foster father and sat up to stare at the two with red, puffy eyes, tear-stained cheeks, and snot covered nose.

"It always gets worse before it gets better." She tried to reassure the teenager, but Emma only shook her head.

"I don't know if this will…"

"Just give it time, Emma." Mary Margaret sighed. "David said that you had accidentally hurt someone?"

"Yeah…"

"Talk to them?"

"She won't let me talk to her! She wanted me to give her time." And, really, Emma didn't want to discuss this with her parents, of all people.

"Then wait. Give her that time. Time is usually best in these situations-"

"I _hate_ time!" Emma slammed the palms of her hands on the bed. "It only makes things worse!"

"Emma, honey, what I think your mother is trying to say is that, although time may be painful now, it will be worth it later on, when the waiting is over." David cut in before his wife could protest the blonde's words. He knew how both his wife and foster daughter worked. If Mary Margaret were to go too far, and he knew when that point would be, Emma would only get angrier and close up on them.

The sheriff shifted on the bed, his eyes focused on Emma's face. "Just think about when enough time has passed and you contact… her. Things will get better, won't they?"

"Only if she wants to talk to me about what had happened." Emma mumbled, emerald orbs sliding towards the phone that she left on the nightstand. She kept her gaze there as the other two watched her with frowning, sympathetic faces.

Maybe she would try to text Regina in an hour.

"Would you like us to leave you alone?" David finally asked after a few minutes of silence. The blonde only nodded and curled back up on her bed as she watched as both he and Mary Margaret stood, the latter picking up the container of small fruit.

"If you need anything, dear, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" Her mother whispered softly.

"I will."

"Goodnight, Emma."

"Try to have a good night, honey."

"Yeah. I'll see." Emma shrugged and watched them, frowning again, as they made their way to the door. Good thing that they didn't dare pry for more information or stay to bug her. They knew that something was off, and more than usual when she was in such a mood.

* * *

It had been three hours after her foster parents had left her alone. And two since Emma had sent the first text.

There still hadn't been a response, nor one to the second message that she had sent an hour prior. The blonde didn't want to seem too desperate though, as she had contemplated sending even a third text to Regina. She had set her phone aside and let that night's events run through her mind once again.

But every time that she had gone through the memories, they all seemed fuzzy and hazed, except for that look on Regina's face upon first seeing her in that stall. The look in her eyes of something that Emma had hoped to never see in them, let alone cause it. They were demons, the look in her eyes, the demons of her past, though Emma may not have known all of them. But there was something that had happened to Regina, something so similar to this, and she could just _see_ it playing in whisky colored orbs.

"What did I do?" she whispered, fingers closing around the pocket knife that she had been playing with for the past three hours. A funny thought, although not humorous, had brought itself to Emma's mind. It had passed through a few times beforehand as she sat here, contemplating her life and how shitty it will be knowing that Regina wouldn't live it with her.

She had remembered thinking this a few weeks back. The day before she went to Boston, if she thought correctly. She had been sitting in detention and messaging Regina on the phone. It was one of the first times that they had spilt their feelings towards each other, or at least the deeper parts. It was a sort of joke at the moment, when she had sent the "because without you, my brain would be in shambles." Before Regina had taken it a step deeper, Emma had thought something that she figured would never apply to her_._

…_because without you, my life would not be complete_.

She only wondered if it were to apply to her now. Emma already felt this emptiness in her heart. Was that what it had meant? She would forever feel like this if Regina were not with her? Oh, god, hopefully she would never have to find out. Hopefully the brunette would want to resolve this.

"If you'd ever reply to me…" Emma sighed towards her phone once again and dropped the knife on her lap to pick the device up. Music usually cheered her up, or made her even more depressed than she was. But what if a song were to come on and deepen her mood? It would have to be a chance that she was willing to take for the moment. She'd hit herself later for making this decision.

After she picked out a good song to listen to, she picked the knife up once again and began to play with it. She always wondered why people hurt themselves with sharp objects when they were depressed, or whatever they were feeling when they did it. She didn't want to seem insensitive, but she just couldn't fathom why they would do it. But, of course, that was her. She _hated_ pain. It wasn't something that she was partial to. Even growing up, she never grew used to the pain when getting into fights, or tripping, or walking into something, or even getting a paper cut.  
Pain was not Emma's friend, but she _had_ always wondered what it felt like when one would physically harm themselves. She had heard people say that it felt good. That it got rid of the emotional pain. But that was from limited sources, since she wasn't all very interested in the idea.

Emma had to admit, at times, she contemplated the idea of hurting herself. It was usually at times like this, when she was shoved deep into depression and everything around her didn't seem to spark a smile. The idea of death was far better than the idea of living and it felt as if no one could change her mind. Hell, even when she _was_ sober from her depression, she couldn't imagine why someone wanted to _live_ and had often times thought about taking her life.

But that was going a step too far, and she knew it. She couldn't off herself. Especially not now. No. But… she could always dip her toe into this. Find out what it felt like. Find out if it were to work or not.

It was dangerous, she knew. It was like taking drugs prescribed to someone else. Everyone was different. Everyone handled things in a different way. In the way that they felt the most comfortable with. Some hurt themselves, while Emma listened to music. It was a long stretch, really, and quite the dangerous route to take. Her door was open (what door?), after all, and one of her parents could walk in at any given moment.

That was another risk she was willing to take. She wasn't going to take long. Just one cut… Just one to see what the hell this was all about and, more importantly, to see if it were to take away the pain squeezing her heart. So she flipped the blade out from her pocket knife as the lyrics from the song playing echoed through the room.

* * *

_Love is a sword when you've got no defense_

_Love is the rock we throw ourselves against_

_Love is the healing of a broken heart_

_The story behind all of my favorite scars_

* * *

"Yes, she's upstairs."

"She might still be asleep."

"She had a rough night."

"Just poke her to wake her."

"Thanks." The last voice was different than the first two, which Emma had concluded were her parents. But the third was someone completely different. A male.

The blonde sat up in her bed, eyes wide as she tried to throw on something with long sleeves, the sound of footsteps coming closer only had her movements hastier. The time was sufficient enough for her to gather herself as the source of the footsteps appeared in her doorway.

"Graham?"

"Yeah. Where were you?" The man stepped closer to Emma's bed, stopping at the side with a quirked brow. "Your parents said you came home and went straight up here. Ruby and Belle tried to contact you, but you wouldn't answer."

"I must have fallen asleep." Emma shrugged, her eyes falling to her lap.

"But you left early. I thought you were going to leave with Ruby and Belle?" Graham cocked his head to one side, thumbs in his pockets. "They never saw you at the dance."

"Well, I didn't see them, either."

"Did you even go?"

"Yeah. And it was the worst mistake of my life." Emma snapped, scooting to the corner of her bed. With a frown, her friend perched on the edge of the mattress and looked at the blonde.

"Well, I knew that you didn't like dances, but I didn't think this much." His eyes skated over her bed, covered in blankets, and landed on her face after finding nothing to answer whatever question he had floating around.

"It's not because of that." The blonde rolled her eyes and brought her knees to her chest.

"Ruby said you went with Killian." Graham's brow rose once again. "I thought you were dating Regina?"

"I… am." Emma guided her attention to her toes. Unclipped and boring.

"Oh…"

"I didn't fucking cheat on her, if that's what you think." She hissed, snapping her head up. "I told her that I was going with him. She was there, too, but as one of the teacher chaperone peoples. We… we were supposed to dance after… Killian and I were done. Sneak out, y'know?"

"What happened?" His voice was quiet, monotonous, even.

"Shit. I fucked up." Emma shrugged, playing with the cuffs of her sweater.

"Emma. _What happened?_" Graham repeated himself, this time, his voice not showing any sign of play. No dancing around the subject. Of course, that was Graham. When he wanted answers, he got them. Emma was glad that he was able to keep his secrets.

"Killian Jones happened." Emma snarled. "I even told him… I-I told him before we got into the gym."

"Told him what?"

"That I liked chicks." She muttered, tugging at a lock of hair. "He was joking when he asked, but I answered him seriously. I thought… he had taken me seriously as well."

"What the hell did he do?"

Emma balled her fists and brought her gaze to meet with Graham's. "It was a slow song playing and he insisted we danced. I wanted to reject it, and I regret not doing so now… And then he kissed me. Halfway through the song, he put his hands on my ass and _kissed me_."

"He kissed you? Is that what this is-… Wait." Graham's eyes lit up as he put the pieces to this puzzle together and the full image lay in front of him. "You said Regina was there, correct?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"I take it that she saw…"

"Yes." Emma quickly answered, tugging at the sleeves of her sweater some more. "And she ran off. I found her in the bathroom."

"The… bathroom?"

"Yeah." The blonde shrugged. "We fought… I…"

And then she began to feel the familiar tug of tears and the blur in her vision. She could never manage to make it past that part. It always brought tears to her eyes seeing Regina so hurt like that. It was the last thing that she had ever wanted to happen to the brunette. But it had happened and she just couldn't get that heartbroken, betrayed look out of her mind. And that last part before she left the bathroom. That part where she didn't return the 'I love you.' That part where she walked away without another glance.

"Emma…"

"I can't believe that I hurt her like this." Emma buried her face in her hands, taking several deep breaths to calm herself, easing the constriction in her throat.

"But, didn't Killian kiss _you_? Didn't… you stop it?"

"I tried. I did. I pushed him away. But she didn't see that, I don't think… And she accused me of wanting to kiss him."

Graham leaned forward, his head tilted to one side as he stared at the blonde with keen interest. "Well, it doesn't seem that she was in her right mind to spout accusations like that. Didn't you tell her what happened?"

"Over and over again, Graham. I did. I tried to explain what happened. But she said she needed time and… and she didn't want to listen to what I had to say." Emma shifted, taking a deep inhalation of air as she pressed her back to the headboard.

"Why wouldn't she?"

"I don't know… She was probably going to cry again. Hah, did I tell you that? She was _crying_. I made her _cry_! _I fucking made her cry_."

"Emma, calm down…" He frowned and reached out to set a gentle hand on her forearm, giving it a squeeze. "Did you try talking to her again?"

"Yeah. I sent her three texts. Two, each an hour apart, then another before I went to bed." The blonde grabbed her phone from the nightstand and woke it up. No new messages.

"And I called her twice. The first time, she didn't pick up. And the second… it was dial tone."

"Shit…"

"Yeah, shit. I fucked up!" Emma threw her phone across the room, causing it to break apart. The back flew away from the front, and the battery landed in one of the blonde's shoes. "I fucking _love_ her and I fucked it up. How the hell am I going to survive knowing that she _hates my guts?_"

"Emma…" Graham's voice was nothing but a mere sigh. His hand slid from the blonde's forearm to rest on her trembling back. "You have to give it some time. _More_ time. You're overreacting. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours, yet. I'm pretty sure you'd need time too, if something were to happen to you in a similar situation."

"Time! Time time time time _time!_ I _hate_ time!"

"Yeah? Well, you'll just have to live with it! Time is a part of life that cannot be helped and time is needed in order for things to progress. You have to shut up and open your eyes, Emma! I know you're better than this! The Emma I know doesn't sit around and mope about time and some _girl!_ She would go out there and kick ass. She would make the best of the situation. Take the bull by the horns. Get your mind off Regina and _busy_ yourself so you don't have to burden yourself with it. Live a little and deal with it later because right now, you will only make matters worse by bitching and waiting. Let time run its course, and before you know it, things will start to get better. I know that it sounds like a load of bullshit right now, but trust me… It will get better." Emma's eyes were as wide as saucers as she lifted her gaze to meet with her friend's. She could only nod, because she knew that he was right. This wasn't her. And by just sitting here, nothing was going to get accomplished. Everything will just go on agonizingly slow. The burdening thoughts in her mind were just eating away at her brain until there would be nothing left, and she needed that damned thing in order to make up with Regina.

"Good. Now, why don't you get your ass ready and come with me. Ruby, Belle, and I planned on doing some stuff today, but you won't know until you find out." He coaxed, scooting himself off the bed. "Leave that damn phone here, too. It's all broke anyways."

"What if… What if she calls?"

"Who the fuck cares! Do you want her to know that you've been wasting your life away at that phone for her?"

"Yes! She's _everything_ to me." Emma protested, scrambling from her spot to the edge of the bed where she nearly clobbered the man sitting there.

"Well, fuck her!"

She blanched and muttered, "… I do."

Graham stood there for a moment before turning around to spot a pair of socks on the floor, the ones from yesterday, no doubt, and picked them up to toss at Emma's face, both his brows raised.

"Get ready. And if you're not downstairs in five minutes, I'm dragging you with me despite what you're wearing- with or without that phone." And with that, he was stomping out of the room.

Emma made haste at gathering her phone first, putting the pieces back together to stuff the entirety of it in her sweater pocket. Luckily the damned thing didn't shatter. Her parents would have been _pissed_.

Nibbling on her lower lip, she quickly tried to find a pair of jeans to pull on and slipped the socks that Graham had thrown at her on as well. Her shoes were by the door, so it was rather easy to slip them on before jogging down the stairs to meet with Mary Margaret and Graham, chatting at the kitchen table.

"You threw your phone?" The pixie-haired woman's stern question startled Emma at the bottom of the stairs.

"Y-yeah…"

"Why? Is it broke?"

"No. And… I was angry." The blonde slowly walked over to her foster mother, shooting Graham daggers on her way. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

"You better not. That thing is expensive."

"I won't." She repeated.

Graham stood from his spot, a smirk playing on his face as he headed towards the door with an expectant look.

"Don't stay out too late." Mary Margaret warned, gazing up at her daughter.

"No promises. I might stay the night with Ruby and Belle. I'll text you."

"Emma…" Her mother sighed, playing with the mug of coffee in her hands.

"Graham's only here for these two-"

"Actually I'm on winter break. I'll be here for a couple weeks." Graham interrupted, raising a hand. "So…"

"Thanks…" Emma rolled her eyes, one arm crossing over the other.

Mary Margaret bit her lower lip before speaking, looking up at her daughter with those same eyes from last night. "You can stay the night, dear, since it'll be a school week next week."

"Yeah, only four days. Stupid finals…" The blonde muttered, but smiled and bent down to wrap her arms around the brunette. "Thank you!"

"Yes… Now, go! Before I change my mind."

"Okay! Let's beat it, Cracker." Emma quickly made her way to the door, following behind her male friend as he made his way out.

* * *

"Where the hell were you?" Ruby immediately asked upon Emma's and Graham's arrival at the room the latter had booked for his stay.

She and Belle were both sitting on the couch, looking at the blonde with raised brows. Graham must have told them that he was going to retrieve Emma with the way they seemed so expectant for his arrival. _Their arrival_, she mended.

"Home."

"Come on. Why don't we go do something?" Graham suggested, gesturing his head towards the door. "We can go down to the docks like old times."

"Or go grab a bite at Granny's. I'm starving." Emma mumbled.

"Yeah."

"No! She's gotta tell us why she ditched us!" Ruby hoisted herself up from the couch and stalked over to Emma, a glare in her brown eyes. The other brunette was soon behind her, nodding.

"I didn't even see you there." Emma retorted. "So I left."

"You didn't look hard enough."

"We saw you." Belle was quick to add.

"Then why didn't you come to me?"

"Oh, honey, I'm pretty sure _everyone_ saw you." The brunette waitress laughed, gently shoving the blonde's shoulder. "You were macking on Killian in the middle of the room. I wasn't going to interrupt that."

Emma growled and crossed her arms. "You should have."

"Let me guess, he did it without you wanting him to?"

"Do I really have to answer that or have you two already forgotten also?" The blonde rolled her eyes, shifting the weight from one foot to the other.

"What do you mean?" Belle asked calmly, stepping beside Ruby now to give her friend a concerned look.

"I told Killian before we even entered the dance. He kinda asked the wrong question and I sorta said yes. But, the thing that pissed me off, was that he kissed me anyways. And it just…" Emma trailed off, swallowing thickly at the memories that had happened afterwards.

"Is that why you went home so early, then? Did he upset you?" That was Ruby, taking a step forward as if to protect her.

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"I'll kill him…" The waitress growled. "I'm sorry that I insisted you go with that perv in the first place."

"It's fine…" Emma shrugged. "Can we just go… eat and do something?"

"Emma wants to get her mind off things." Graham elaborated, stepping up from behind the blonde. "That's the only reason why I got her to come willingly with me."

"Fine." Ruby's eyes narrowed, focused on the blonde who returned the look with a quirked brow.

"What?"

"You'll be telling me more details later. Count on that."

"I won't!" Emma sing-songed, quickly making her way towards the door that connected with the diner on the other side of the room. She could hear Ruby scoff and yell something at her, while both Belle and Graham laughed, the latter speaking.

"Look who put you in your place."

"She won't last…" Ruby muttered, causing Emma to roll her eyes once again.

The four of them soon got situated in a booth, Ruby's replacement waitress- or so Emma liked to call her- took their orders. As they wait for their food and drinks, they began to reminisce with Graham. Most of it was things that Emma had talked with him about the weekend she went to Boston. How were his classes? Did he find anyone to date yet? How's the weather? What's your apartment like? Any new replacement friends?

Then he was asked about what they had done when Emma was up there, both Graham and Emma froze in there spots. Emma's doe-eyes stared blankly at Ruby, who had asked the question, as the man next to her did the same.

Hopefully they didn't look guilty, because, fuck, they would get the wrong idea. She knew how Ruby's mind worked at times, and she would definitely assume they had done _something_ considering the way they had frozen in place just not, despite Emma's whole being gay thing. No one ever seemed to consider it at times. Well, she did suppose there were a limited number of people who knew…

"We went to watch a show and ate dinner." Emma quickly muttered. "And, uh, went to a shop. I bought a necklace. That one I told you I got in Boston?"

"Oh, the one that you're wearing now?" Belle tilted her head, a finger rising to point at the swan pendant around her neck, contrasting against the black sweater that she wore.

"Yeah…" The blonde nodded, a hand immediately going up to capture the small pendant in her hand. It was the only part of Regina she had, and believe it or not, had helped her keep it together some of the time because it brought back those great memories.

"That's all? Sounds boring." The brunette teased.

"We talked, really. Most of the time we stayed at the apartment and watched television." Graham added with a shrug. He played with the glass of soda set in front of him as the waitress had come back with the drinks. "We couldn't really go anywhere. It was busy as hell."

"It still sounds boring. Why didn't you go to any clubs or anything? Do something fun?" Ruby smirked. Of course she would say that. She was always the one bringing them to the parties here in town. Emma didn't know why she enjoyed them so much. There were so many people, terrible body odor, distasteful music, and bad or lewd dancing. The only thing that Emma ever really liked about going to these parties were the food that they served. She was glad that Belle didn't like them, either, because it was usually Ruby and Graham dancing their way through the crowds.

"Because I know Emma hates them. It'd be pointless." He shrugged, sipping from his drink.

Emma did the same, a wry look on her face. "Unlike you, Ms. I'll-Drag-Your-Ass-There-Against-Your-Will."

"You end up liking-"

Belle slowly shook her head, leaving Ruby's words to fade into the air.

"It's too loud, Ruby. And Em only likes the food."

"True." The blonde nodded, bringing her burger close to her as it was sat on the table. "If there was one way to make me happy, it would be to give me food. I really like food."

"Yeah, we know." Ruby chuckled. "You always order a jillion things when you're here."

"I have an idea about how we'll get Emma to feel better." Belle smiled widely. "Food. We'll have a food party tonight."

"And video games?" Emma peeped in hopefully. "Gaming goes good with food."

"Hell yeah, I'm up for that!" Graham whole-heartedly agreed, the widest smile on his face. "Then maybe I'll beat your ass at that game."

"Good luck." The blonde muttered, shoving a few french-fries in her mouth. Ruby and Belle both shook their heads with an eye roll. Typical them. They hated playing video games, or at least didn't like playing against Emma since she was quite the sore loser.

"You bitches will be playing with us. I have Mario Party, don't you worry." The blonde smirked.

"What, so you can scream at us when you lose a mini-game? I don't think so." Ruby quickly shook her head, although a playful smirk was evident on her face.

"What? No! I don't do that…"

"You go ballistic every time you lose and throw your controller." Belle quietly added in. "You bruised my arm last time."

"I won't do it. I promise." Emma pleaded, puffing out her lower lip in an attempt to guilt them into it. "Do it for me. The sad, sad little Emma that needs all cheered up."

"Yeah, come on guys. Do it for puppy-dog Ems." Graham shoved the blonde's side teasingly as the two gave a collective sigh.

"Fine."

"Sweet!" Emma grinned. That should definitely take her mind off the buzzing worries in it. Gaming usually helped, and a little ass-kicking would do her some good.

* * *

"That's so fucking unfair!" Emma screeched, throwing her controller across the living room of her apartment. Mary Margaret yelled a quick reprimand, but the blonde hadn't paid any attention.

"You lost fair and square, Emma!"

"No, I did not! That fucker pushed me off!" The blonde huffed, crossing her arms as she angrily sat back against the couch.

Ruby shook her head and smirked. "But that's the concept of the game."

"Stupid concept."

"My, god, you _are_ a sore loser." Belle just shook her head as Graham had a party of his own, laughing like a hyena beside Emma.

"It's intense when we play those other games together. She bitches every time I shoot her." Graham continued to chuckle, patting Emma on the back.

"Mario Party is a fucking friendship ruining game. Why did you guys let me play this?" The blonde absently mumbled, going to retrieve the controller that Mary Margaret had picked up from the kitchen.

"Emma, mind your language."

"Sorry…" Emma mumbled, heading back to the couch. "We should play something else."

"All games are winning/losing based, I don't think they're going to work out." Ruby flipped through the stack of game cases by the system, a brow quirked at her blonde friend. "So it's either this or some I-Spy shit."

"That's Mary Margaret's." Emma shooed the brunette waitress away from the screen as she rolled her dice to move.

"I know a game that you might like that has no winning or losing to it." Belle mumbled from the other side of the blonde, tentatively pressing buttons on her controller when it had become her turn.

"What is it?" Emma turned, suddenly curious as to what it would be. Of course, there were games like that, but most were boring as hell. She couldn't fathom why people would enjoy games where you search for things on a picture or whatever those games were about.

"It's for the computer." The brunette bookworm explained, which had Emma rolling her eyes. If Belle was about to suggest she play one of those puzzle games…

"It's called _The Cat Lady_."

"What?" Emma snorted. "That doesn't sound the least bit interesting, sorry. I don't want to play with herds of cats, or whatever the fuck."

"No. It's not like that at all. Really, it doesn't have much to do with cats themselves. I mean, you get to play a cat for like five seconds, but it has a really beautiful storyline. I really think you should try it. I bet you'd like it."

"I don't know, Belle. The title itself is turning me off…" The blonde crinkled her brows.

"No, she's right. I watched her play it." Ruby twisted around to face the two from the floor and gave a wolfish grin. "There was a lot of blood and, in one scene, naked boobs."

"Boobs?" Emma smirked. "Blood? Now _that_ sounds like my kind of game."

"Yeah, it's a horror game." Graham finally added. "I had seen some videos about it on the internet, but hadn't played it myself. You die, but you're supposed to as a part of the storyline."

"Huh. Where do I get this from?" Emma asked, suddenly quite curious about this bloody, horror game. If it was as good as they said it was, she would surely enjoy it, right?

"I have a copy of it at home. You can have it." Belle smiled.

"So what's it like? I mean… How are things supposed to go? Are you a person, or what?"

"Yes. You're a woman, who is considered the cat lady, although the cats are all strays and all she does is feed them. But, uh, she's not like really old or crazy like you would make a cat lady out to be. She's depressed and commits suicide at the beginning of the game. But you have to play it to find out." Ruby started to explain. "The reason behind it is explained the further you progress, so it's more of a revelation storyline, but you still have some badass shit happening."

"Like what?"

"You'll just have to play it and figure that out yourself. It's the entire plot of the game. But, you virtually have to kill people and there's just… blood and gore, it's pretty awesome." The waitress continued. "It's one of those games where you get a choice to choose the dialogue, so you can choose what she would say, which would affect the reply of whoever you might be talking to. It's the same with actions, of course. I think, depending on your choices, it changes the overall outcome of the story- the ending. There are about four endings in all, one of them is supposed to be 'secret' but it's pretty easy to get after you're familiar with the game."

"And it's a game that you can replay if you ever wanted to see the other outcomes or change dialogue and choices at certain parts." Belle added. "It's funny to see what you could say after choosing differently."

"You should play it." Graham nodded.

"Well, whenever we're done here, you can give it to me." Emma grinned, shaking with excitement. "But, right now, I want to fucking finish this game and eat some dinner."

"I'll give it to you tomorrow. I don't want to go back to the house tonight." Belle muttered, focusing her attention back onto the screen.

"It's fine. It's something that I'll be playing by myself, anyways." The blonde shrugged. Whatever this game was, it sounded interesting as hell and she was sure anxious to get her hands on it. A horror game. She loved those. But the way that they made it sound, it wasn't exactly a screamer. Especially if Belle was saying that it had a beautiful storyline. Oh, god, she hoped that they were right when saying that she would like it, or else she'd have a fit. She wouldn't only be able to see when she got the damned thing on her laptop tomorrow.

But for now, it was time to just enjoy this time with her friends and keep her mind off other things. It seemed to be rather successful as of now, which was good. She hadn't had one thought of Regina since going out with her friends- well, besides the thought of the necklace. Wait… She was thinking about that damned woman now. No. Just concentrate on trying to blow her friends off the screen. Nothing else. No Regina. No school. No dance. No yesterday. All that mattered right now was winning this goddamn game.

* * *

Monday.

It was Monday and Regina still hadn't returned any of Emma's calls or texts. The blonde had sent one last message to the teacher on Sunday, but there was no luck for a reply. And now it was Monday, and Emma still had Regina for her fourth period class. It would be the inevitable. They would have to meet face to face, although the blonde would be at the back of the classroom and Regina at the front- especially if she were still playing the avoiding game.

Though, this was the opportunity for Emma to make amends with the brunette teacher. She really wanted everything to go back to the way it used to be. Being apart from Regina- especially for these three days- had felt like a lifetime of agonizing memories, forced to replay in the blonde's mind and to think up what Regina was going through, if anything. And that swan pendant that she wore only reminded her of the brunette that had left her in that bathroom.

It was about time that she would confront the older woman. Three days has been long enough, she thought, and Regina should be ready to hear whatever the blonde had to say. It was a terrible nagging feeling that had found itself embedded in Emma's gut that she had never been able to mend things with the brunette before she had ever left. She wanted to tell her _everything_ that had happened and explain to her what she had been building up in her head for three days. That she loved that woman _to death_ and would never intentionally hurt her. It was that boy's fault that everything happened and she had so many regrets, she was ready to create a novel, or fifty. She would beg and grovel if she had to, even though that was nothing of her character, but she would do _anything_ if it meant getting her Gina back.

Three days was too long. Way too long.

And so were three more periods.

It was first period as of current, and she sat next to the one that had seemingly threw her into the pits of hell by just that one action. She used to feel sorry for him, hell, she even liked him as a person. But now, he had fucked up everything so bad and twisted whatever beliefs that Emma had about good people, that she just _hated_ him. _He_ put her through all of this. _He_ sent her past the point of no return. Although, that may have just been a _little_ much. But she _had_ contemplated things that she had never dared before, and had actually gone through with them.

Oh, god, how could she bear the sight of him at this moment? Looking at him only reminded her of that night and what he had done, and what pain that he had caused. And she would only have to be reminded of such things for the next three periods until she had confronted the result of what he had done. It all felt like a dream, like a _game_ that dragged you along, throwing the plot and problems in your face until you hit the climax and end with the exposition, which could only be good or bad. You'd just have to choose your course correctly in order to gain the better ending.

Emma only hoped that everything would turn out alright. She didn't think she could handle whatever life that lay ahead of her if Regina were to brush her off. It was painful enough being in this… purgatory. It was only a matter of result that would answer the blonde's question regarding her life.

And that answer was still two hours away. An agonizing two hours that Emma wished didn't have to be there. But she had to do _math_ instead of talking with what mattered most. Who the fuck ever used shit taught in school, anyways, besides applying it to a teaching career? It was futile. She didn't even need to know this to become a goddamn cop. Or at least she didn't think so. All she needed to know was how to drive, use a gun, and do paperwork all the while watching her tail.

"Emma!" Mr. Spencer's voice had the blonde jumping in her spot, feeling as if she had just been smacked as the thoughts had immediately dissipated.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Can you answer the question on the board?" The male teacher pointed to a complicated looking problem on the board and Emma nodded, although she had no idea what the hell they were even doing. Perhaps it wasn't for the better to space out during class like she had intended.

The blonde slowly got out of her seat and walked towards the front of the room. She could feel all eyes on her, even a few whispers as she walked by. It had always made her self-conscious when others were whispering around her. She always felt those comments were meant to be directed towards her, though, she could never know what they were saying. Emma supposed it was for the better, because when the comments _were_ for her, and were spoken out loud, she absolutely hated them and wanted to bash heads together.

But she was getting off topic again, and it definitely was not helping her lack of knowledge for what they were doing. The problem splayed out in front of her looked complicated with the mix of numbers and letters and numerical signs. What the fuck was even going on here? And who the hell ever came up with this?

"Any day now, Swan."

_Killian_.

Emma tightened her grip on the marker in her hand at the sound of his voice and tried her best to ignore him as she started with the problem. Whatever the hell she was doing, she was doing it correctly.

Of course, they were reviewing. Wednesday was the start of semester tests, after all. This was just something from earlier on in the year. She probably learned it on one of those days she had decided to space out- which would have been most days. Regina really had pulled her attention away from classes.

Soon enough, she was finishing up the problem with a confident smile. The lesson on this was rather easy and the entire process simple. It had seemed intimidating at first, but really, it wasn't, and Emma was thankful for that. At least she didn't embarrass herself in front of the entire class.

"Congratulations, Swan, you got one right!"

Emma froze in her spot, emerald eyes sliding towards the brunet with a smile on his face, and shot him daggers. "So?"

"Just cheering you on. No need to be a crocodile." He rolled his eyes, chuckling at something that someone had said beside him.

Shaking her head, Emma proceeded back to her seat. She wasn't going to play his game today, because if she were to, she would just blow up in his face and, really, she didn't want to do that- at least in front of an entire classroom.

"But I'm sure she wouldn't mind chomping on you some more." A girl from that sat in the spot in front of Emma giggled. Obnoxious bitch.

"I bet she'd do it right now if she could." The boy sitting next to Killian put in his two cents. Why the hell were they doing this?

"No. She's a lezzy, she would be on the chicks in here." Another boy, the one that sat beside Emma, was quick to expose.

Suddenly, the girl that sat next to Emma and the one in front seemed to gasp with disgust, and the blonde could just _hear _it, as they moved as far away from her as possible.

"That's disgusting! I want to change seats, Mr. Spencer!" The brunette squealed from beside the blonde, who rolled her eyes.

Really, it was amusing how they were reacting, but at the same time, it hurt. Emma could never fathom why people acted like that. Why was it such a big deal to have knowledge that she prefers women over men? It's not like anything has changed. It's not like she would try something. Why do they always think that? Why don't men overreact to women or vice versa, and be revolted by sitting next to them, believing that they would hit on them? To Emma, she felt that it should be the same. No reactions. No cares.

Why couldn't someone just say, "She likes girls? That's cool." or "He likes boys? That's cool, too." and just move on with their lives? It was just something that Emma couldn't understand, and she knew that there were others with the same thoughts.

Really, though, why did they always think that one would immediately hit on them? That girl wasn't even Emma's type. And, for some reason, it had just clicked in Emma's mind that they _knew_ she was gay. Killian… That traitorous bastard squealed out her secret, and now everyone knew- or at least everyone in this class- and would probably spread the word.

"What's this fuss now?" Mr. Spencer growled from his spot at the desk, looking up to the girl who had spoken his name.

"I don't want to sit next to the… _lesbian_." She whispered the word as if it were a dirty thing.

Emma scoffed and crossed her arms tightly over her chest, shrinking down in her seat as the teacher stood up from his desk, eyes boring into the blonde's skull. She had _no idea_ what type of man he was, if he was one that accepted or rejected the idea.

Mr. Spencer didn't even respond to the girl. He only pointed to an empty desk at the front of the classroom, which had the teenager out of her old seat in a matter of seconds.

"Thank you. I don't want _her_ to try anything on me."

"What the fuck makes you think I would want anything to do with the likes of _you_?" Emma couldn't help but to sneer, slamming her palms on the desk. "With any of you? This is just so _fucking_ ridiculous! It was just fine before. I wasn't _hitting_ _on you_."

"Emma, will you calm down before I send you to Mr. Gold's office?" The teacher warned, staring with harsh eyes at the blonde.

"Excuse me for trying to stand up for myself!" The blonde balled her fists. "What a school system. Let the bullies bully and yell at the victims for growing a pair."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" The boy next to a rather quiet Killian had spoken.

"What the fuck does that even mean?"

"Emma Nolan!"

"Do you even hear this jerkoff?" Emma hissed, then stood up from her seat to gather her items.

"I bet she'd like it." The girl in front of her added.

"Emmett?" Another jeered.

"Oh, just fuck you! Being a lesbian doesn't mean I want to become a fucking _guy_." Really, what the hell were they even thinking? If you were going to insult something, at least have knowledge of it.

"You'd like to fuck me, I bet." That girl spoke, a smirk on her lips. "You'd like to just lick my pu-"

"You wish!" Emma quickly threw out, backing up towards the door. "I hope you're happy, Killian. I hope it was worth it. This is why I don't tell people this…"

"Emma, wait!" Killian was starting to get out of his seat now, but the blonde shook her head and opened the door.

"Save it, asshole. You successfully hurt two people." And she was gone, marching off towards the office. At least it would be a lot safer there than in that goddamned classroom. Even though it were only three or four people insulting her, it was still quite hurtful. If it were to be only one, Emma would still have been upset like she had been in the past.

Why on earth had she ever trusted that damned boy with her secret? She should have known he would blab it. And he couldn't deny it, either, because he was the only one of a select few that knew.

Asshole.

That's all Emma could keep running through her head at the moment as she made her way down the hallway. But before she had even made it to the office, the bell had rang and students were filing in the hallways. Well, that saved the silly explanation for leaving that class. She could just head to her third period.

And the thought of that sent her heart thrumming in her chest. Only one more period before she was in Regina Mills' class. God, she couldn't wait to see that woman again, and hopefully to see her beautiful smile again. She really needed it.

She really needed to get her mind off everything, as well. If she wouldn't, she would probably break down at some point during this period with all of what had happened. The emotions building inside of her from second period and the assholes there were stored in a dangerous place. Emma was lucky that she hadn't broken in class, or one of two things would happen: crying on the spot, or lash out and hurt the target.

Emma wasn't one that held her emotions in well if they were pushed to the limit. She would _snap_ or _break_ in some way. The crying bit wouldn't be caused by such hurtful things said to her, no, it would be caused by the _anger_ welling up inside of her. The anger that she tried so hard to conceal would become so dangerously high- and she knew when that would occur, because she would just _shake_ with her built-up anger until she could no longer contain it, and would just burst into tears, even as she spoke. It had happened to her before, where she had been so angry, she couldn't help but to scream as she sobbed. If she were to lash out, they would know it. That could also go one of two ways, she would scream and hit, or just silently walk up and wail on the contributor to her rage. Either way, it never ended well, and it definitely would not have in that classroom because as far as she could tell, almost everyone was an enemy, and her eyes would lock in on every single one of them.

It was a good thing that she had walked out of the room before she had been pushed past her limits. She couldn't afford a call to her foster parents who would, no doubt, question her as to why she would do such a thing. She didn't want them to find out that way. For them to find out, it would be best for her to sit them down. But, seeing as to how nothing bad had happened enough for a call, she didn't have to worry about it. Instead, she could clear her mind. They were able to run today.

And run did she. Emma had let every worrisome thought melt away as she ran around the gym, although, it would have had a more calming effect on her if she were to be outside. Unfortunately, it was too cold and too snowy outside for them to use the track. The blonde didn't mind, just so long as she could run.

By the end of the period, she was exhausted, but her mind felt pumped and ready to take on the next period. During her run, she tried to think up positive outcomes to her talk with Regina, if she were to get one. She even had thought up what to say, although, she probably wouldn't be able to remember it word for word. That would be for the best, though. She wouldn't want to sound robotic as she spoke to the older woman. Who knows what Regina would think of her if she were to give her an entire written speech for an explanation? It would be utterly cheap. It would be richer coming from the heart. She would play it by ear, especially since she didn't know how Regina was going to react to what she would be saying.

Or if Emma would be able to say anything at all, because when she walked through that door to her fourth period Creative Writing class in Ms. Mills' room, she saw _her_ and her breath hitched in her throat. It had been the first time in three days that she had seen that woman, and she still looked as gorgeous- if not more. Although, the blonde noticed a few changes in her appearance.

Regina looked just _worn _as she sat at her desk, filing through papers. She had dark circles under her eyes, although she had tried to cover them up with makeup, but the puffiness was still there if one were to look close and long enough. Her hair looked different. It looked… thinner. And her skin appeared paler, but that could have just been the lighting.

Emma frowned, unable to help the drop in her muscles, as she made her way to her desk at the back of the room. Regina didn't seem to pay any notice to her presence. Usually she gave her a smile. That was just another strike to the current reality. Was she really going to ignore her?

With a soft sigh, Emma let her gaze lower to the paper that had been left on her desk from the previous English class. This would be the most agonizing hour of all, Emma had concluded. Even though she was where she wanted to be, she still had to wait and watch as the brunette with the sad, chocolate eyes stood in the front of the room, helping the class review for the semester exam. With every step that she took and every word that she spoke, Emma could sense the sorrow in them, and the way that her tone or step had changed. She walked with a heavier step and spoke with a huskier tone.

No one else probably noticed, but Emma knew Regina, and this wasn't her. This was someone that had another thing taken from them and was on the verge of just giving up. She was weighted with demons that were dragging her down- the same ones that Emma had tried so very hard to pick off. It had all ultimately failed in the end- her efforts- for it was her own fault that they had returned. Only now could Emma hope that she would be able to remove them once again and help Regina back up.

Emma was bound with regrets once again by the end of the period, each one squeezing her heart tighter in her chest until she just could not breathe. As the students filed out of the room, she remained, watching as the brunette teacher made her way over to her desk without a word, or even a look, towards the direction of Emma. She had avoided any eye contact all class period.

Now was the time. Now was the time that she would have to speak with her and hopefully end all of this. All of the pain and the worry and the constant hurting.

Emma closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before standing up, slowly making her way over to the brunette.

"Regina?" her voice was hoarse as she spoke, nothing but a croak as it came from her lips.

"What is it?" The teacher impatiently asked, brown eyes focused on the paper in front of her, although she wasn't exactly seeing it.

"We need to talk…"

"We have nothing to talk about."

"Please…" The blonde pleaded, tears already drawing themselves to her eyes. Was she not even going to try?

But that had her removing her reading glasses and setting them aside before looking up at Emma, brown eyes glistening. "So what? You can hurt me some more? I may be a masochist, but even I have my limits."

"No, Re-Regina… It's… I don't want to hurt you. Believe me on that…" Emma tried, dragging her chair over so she could sit in front of the brunette.

"Well, you… you have." She looked away, her voice trembling with each word, and each one had stabbed a needle into Emma's heart. "And I can't talk to you right now."

"It's been three days, Regina!" Emma sighed, leaning back in the chair. "Three days and I… I can't _breathe_ without you. It hurts so much to be apart from you. It's really… it's unreal how much you mean to me. And I want you to trust me when I tell you that I love you. I love you so much, I didn't think it possible."

"Emma…" Regina slowly shook her head.

"Don't you love me, Regina?" Emma honestly asked. It had killed her when she had never returned it on Friday- although she could understand why given the circumstance- but it had bothered her ever since, bringing unwelcome theories to mind.

"Of course I love you, Emma." She half-laughed, half-cried. "In fact, I love you too much…"

"You should let me tell you what happened, Gina…" Emma urged, her voice a soft whisper. "If you love me as much as you say, you will let me, because I find it terribly hard to even _live_ without you… with knowing that you could possible hate me."

"I-I could never hate you, Emma. It is unfathomable."

"Then let me please explain…"

Regina sighed at the blonde's simple plea and Emma tentatively brought her hands up to grab the brunette's, which had her face etching with a debate that had clearly started in her head. Her eyes flickered with hope, and then betrayal. It had hurt so much to see what was reflecting in those dangerous whisky orbs. It was a pain that Emma felt she could never survive. But the brunette spoke, squeezing her hands.

"Fine."

"R-really?"

"Emma. Tell me what happened." Regina impatiently clucked and the blonde nodded.

"I told you, uh, before the dance that I had accepted Killian's invitation to the Winter Formal. Really, I didn't want to, like, at all. But Ruby insisted and so did Belle, since they were going and wanted me to come. Usually I don't like going to those things… So, since he had always been crushing after me, I accepted it." Emma started, her green gaze locked with Regina's and never leaving as she played with the older woman's olive fingers.

"And since I would be going, and with someone I didn't very much care for, I got the idea to convince you to go, too. I had this crazy dream that we could dance with one another, you know? You'd be like my… uh, queen in… a sexy dress to come save me." The blonde blushed slightly. She hadn't told Regina the exact reason why she wanted the brunette to chaperone the dance. But, hell, it never hurt anybody and she knew that the teacher wouldn't make fun of her. "But, yeah, I know… We couldn't actually dance there, so the whole take me away thing came to mind. But you know that.

"Anyways, on that night… Killian picked me up and we were walking to the dance when he started commenting on how I wasn't much of a dress person. And then he made some remark about me being gay after asking some other question and I just answered 'yes.' That's the story about how I came out to him, and I thought he had taken me seriously. He said that I still owed him a dance and I figured that I did since I would be ditching him for you.

"But when we finally got on the dance floor… That was when the slow song started to play. I wanted to get the hell away from there, but he said that I owed him a dance and he wanted that one. I mean, I guess I could have backed away, but I didn't really think anything would come of it since he knew, you know?

"The next thing I know is that he has his hand on my ass. I was pulling away to confront his, but he had apparently read it the wrong way, because he was making this weird, puckering face. It literally took me a moment before my brain clicked to realize what was happening. I know that sounds like a stupid excuse, but come on, I was confused as hell. It's like that moment before people kiss, you know, it's like a spell is put on them to keep them in place. I don't know… But, he kissed me. Yeah. And it was horrible. He tasted like fish. I _hate_ fish." Emma took a moment to shudder at that memory. "But after I realized that he was _fucking kissing me_, I pushed his ass away and chewed him out. He tried to apologize, but really? No."

The blonde just shook her head and finally let her gaze fall to their hands, where Regina had started to play with Emma's own fingers, anxiously lacing them with her own to gently tugging on them or separating them between her hands. She remained silent as she soaked up what Emma had just said, only continuing to play with her fingers as she did so.

Then she released the blonde's hands and set her hands on her own lap. Emma's heart sunk at the gesture, her hands balling up.

"I don't know what to say." Regina finally mumbled.

"You don't have to believe me, I guess… But I swear I'm telling you the truth. And I'm… I'm sorry… I cannot apologize enough for the way that I have hurt you. I can't even blame it all on him, you know? I'm the fucking idiot that decided to go with him. I'm the fucking idiot that let my friends convince me to go in the first place…"

"I believe you, Emma." The brunette reached out to take one of Emma's hands to cradle it in her own.

Emma looked at their hands for a moment before gazing back up to meet Regina's. "And I am so fucking sorry for… _everything_. I hurt you and that's the last thing that I ever want to do. I've been beating myself up all fucking weekend and I haven't been able to sleep because every time I close my eyes… All I could see was you and what I had made you do. I made you_ cry_. I never wanted that!" Tears drew themselves to her eyes once again, this time they didn't stay within their boundaries, instead, they spilled down her cheeks in warm, crystal streams.

"Sweetheart…" Regina squeezed Emma's hand before releasing it, using her free hands to wipe away the tears that didn't cease to stroll down the blonde's ruddy cheeks. "Don't cry… It's alright. I-I forgive you. How can I not when I know that you are so pure?"

"I can't be pure for hurting you, Gina. It's… all my fault that you're-"

"Sh, don't worry about it." Her voice was a soothing hum. "I was- and still am- quite hurt, but I forgive you. I know that I am not the only one that had suffered from this… and it was my own childish acts that had thrown us so deep into this pit. I know now that you do truly love me and I should have never doubted that. It was just that… with him… It all threw me off and put me back in a bad place. This was the only way I knew how to react."

"He's an asshole…" Emma shook her head, sniffling her nose to keep the snot from dripping out. "I wish Friday never happened… He doesn't know how to keep a fucking secret, either."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Emma shook her head once again and stood up to take the few steps between them. "Can I… Can I just have a hug?"

"I think we both need one."

"I've wanted to hug you ever since entering this room." The blonde wrapped her arms tightly around the now-standing Regina as she engulfed the teenager into her arms, that familiar spicy perfume filling Emma's senses and relaxing every nerve that had been on end since the start of the weekend. All events were gone at the snap of a finger.

"Is that so?" Regina whispered against blonde locks, one hand tied up in the mane itself as the other landed on Emma's ass. And that one _squeezed_, which had the blonde smiling. She liked it when Regina touched her ass. It was hers and hers only. No one else's.

"I always know when you need a hug. I get a strong urge to give you one, and it only grows stronger the longer I have to wait." Emma purred, pressing herself closer to the brunette. "And you really needed one today. My poor Gina looked so sad… I feel like shit for making you feel like that."

"I feel the same for putting you through this senseless ordeal. I shouldn't have acted the way that I had, Friday night. If I were to stay and actually listen to you instead of leaving in hysterics, we wouldn't have been put through this mess." Regina murmured sadly into Emma's ear, her body slightly rocking back and forth. "I felt too weak… too vulnerable."

"But, think of it this way, it will only bring us closer. We know how hard it is to keep away from each other and now we'll only want to be closer to one another. I know that I do. I want to fucking handcuff myself to you and never leave your side again."

"I think that would be taking it a step too far, but I must agree. I never want to leave your side again." Regina cracked a smile, and it was that smile that brought one to Emma's own. There it was. She had been yearning to see that gorgeous smile that could brighten her day within a matter of seconds, no matter how shitty it might have been.

"You should stay with me for the rest of the day," Emma hummed, resting her head on the older woman's shoulder, her smile never fading. "There are too many assholes right now after the biggest one of all."

"Is something wrong out there, darling? You had mentioned something about Killian unable to keep a secret?" Regina tilted her head slightly to press a kiss to the side of Emma's head.

"Yeah… Killian fucking told _somebody_ that I was gay. And it got around, because in my second period class today, it was an absolute shit-storm. Mr. Spencer didn't do shit about it when a girl asked to be moved…" She sighed, grabbing onto Regina's shirt as she balled her hands into fists. Just the thought of earlier had her emotions set back on the roller coaster. Emma could feel the constricting in her throat as she spoke again. Her rage was causing her to shake once again at the memory. She wanted to just _bash_ their heads together. "They wouldn't stop saying… things. Killian just sat there. I just walked out… The goddamned teacher didn't even care at all that they were saying these things. He _yelled at me_ for defending myself." Her voice rose a couple of octaves, and as it had, she could feel Regina's arms constrict around her.

"I will have a word with him." Regina growled, rubbing soothing circles against Emma's back as the first sob released itself into the teacher's shoulder.

"I want to _hurt _them all so _badly!_" Emma cried, her grip tightening. "I wanted to bash their fucking skulls together. Maybe then they would fucking get it that I'm the same old me…"

"Honey… Hey, sweetie."

"They all deserve to die!" The blonde hissed, another sob wracking her body.

"Emma…" Regina pulled away from the embrace, her hands moving to touch Emma's cheeks, cupping them with gentle palms. "Calm down, sweetheart. I understand that you are angry at them for saying these things. I have been there… But you are _better_ than them, and you are _happy_ with who you are, aren't you?"

"Of course I am… I have you." Emma tried to even her breath, sniffling her nose several times in the process as she gazed into Regina's loving, brown orbs. "I would never change who I am if that meant losing you. You're the best part of my life and I know what hell is now… Hell is not being able to spend time with you, never being able to see you or talk to you and to have these thoughts of hatred…"

"You have something that they don't." Regina whispered, ducking her head to press a chaste kiss to Emma's lips. "And I want you to keep reminding yourself of that. Remind yourself that, sure, they can say these hurtful things about your lifestyle, but at least it had given you something that's definitely worth it. That's what I do… I remind myself of you when I'm feeling low."

"I'll remember that…" Emma looked down, shame suddenly filling her for reacting in the way that she had towards those people.

"Good." The brunette said, the sweetest smile on her face. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Emma replied. Her heart could just melt with the way that this woman looked at her. Regina made Emma feel so special, like she was the luckiest woman on earth. And, really, she believed that she was. She had a woman that loved her, and really did, as she loved her just the same.

"I really… I really just want to _squish_ you." Emma could help but to comment, the largest smile that she could muster was displayed on her face.

"Please don't," Regina chuckled. "It would hurt."

"I'm sorry." The blonde giggled also, but tried to keep it as quiet as she could so she could hear Regina's own laughter. She enjoyed that woman's laugh. It was music for the soul, beautiful and enchanting. Whenever she heard it, she soaked it up like a sponge. It brought her great joy, especially in knowing that Regina was happy, which ceaselessly made her happy. "But, I just have these _feelings_ and all I can currently translate them is to squish the hell out of you."

"I have those same feelings, dear." Regina laughed again. "But I tend to keep them to myself."

"Well, I honestly wouldn't mind if you squished me. I like it." The blonde gave her a cheesy smile, bursting into laughter when the brunette just shook her head.

"I can think of other ways to show you how I feel."

_Oh_.

Those words went straight to her core, no stops, no turns. She knew _exactly_ what the older woman meant by that, and, of course, it would only leave the blonde flustered in her spot.

"You're blushing, dear."

"Yeah… Well, you would, too." She let her gaze fall from Regina's face to find the computer behind her suddenly become so interesting.

"If we weren't in school right now, I would make an effort to show you just how much I really feel." The back of Regina's hand ghosted over Emma's cheek and the blonde's breath hitched, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Her head tilted towards the hand, reveling in the tender caress that it gave.

"It's unfortunate, because that skirt of yours could have made everything far easier." Emma mumbled, opened her eyes with a smirk on her face. The woman in front of her had rosy cheeks, although wore a smirk that could have any villain put to shame.

"If you come over tonight, we will see just how easy this skirt will make things." Regina purred, her tone dropping a couple octaves. "Sit down."

"Sit?" Emma blinked at the sudden command, but didn't defy what the older woman had said as she found the seat behind her. Regina was soon sitting down as well, her sharp, brown eyes focused on the blonde's scrunched face.

"How much time do we have left in this period?"

"About… uh…" Emma swallowed thickly as he lifted her eyes to the clock on the far wall. "About half."

"Then we have plenty of time to eat." Her hands were on Emma's thighs in a matter of seconds, which had the blonde slightly squirm, pressing them together to ease the sudden ache thrumming there. Regina wore a devious smile, her eyes sparkling with something almost sinful.

"Gina…?" Emma breathed, her heart rate speeding up incredibly as the brunette let that teasing little tongue of hers slide slowly across her moist, pink lips.

"I'm starving. Did you bring any food?" And, suddenly, she was sitting up, all evidence of what had just happened suddenly gone and replaced with a friendly smile.

"I… uh… Have a sandwich?" Emma turned around and quickly fumbled with her bag, pulling out a small container with two plastic-wrapped sandwiches inside. She quickly opened the plastic, fingers shaking as she retrieved one of the sandwiches to hand to the awaiting teacher.

"Thank you, my love." Regina seized Emma's wrist and gave her knuckles a few soft kisses.

"I know it's not much… I wasn't really concentrated on making lunch, this morning."

"Anything from you is a wonderful treat, Emma. Lest it be a dinner from a five star restaurant to a simple lunch consisting of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I will love it and be forever grateful, regardless." The brunette gave Emma that toothy grin that always seemed to melt her heart. She looked so beautiful when she smiled genuinely, and so very happy. That's why Emma made it her goal to keep Regina smiling, and she would double her efforts after what she had done to her.

"Fuck, do I love you…" Emma's cheeks burned, her eyes fluttering to the sandwich in her hands as a sheepish smile lightly graced her lips. And her love for this woman grew more each day. It had only been _two weeks_ since they had told each other for the first time that they loved one another. It was remarkable how fast these feelings were taking over the blonde, and the brunette herself. Emma had suspected that they had started from the very first day that they met and flourished over time, only growing until she had truly realized her feelings. It was something she had already figured out over time, but it still seemed just so mind numbing that they hit her so hard and so fast. She never thought something like this would be possible in real life, that it only happened in movies. But, then again, she never really believed in love before she had a taste of it for herself, and oh god, was it the sweetest thing that she had ever tasted.

"I love you, too." Regina replied, her voice rich like honey.

Emma always lived to hear those words come from the brunette's mouth. It always sent her heart soaring high above the clouds and made all the hurt go away. She only wished this woman could be with her nonstop, because hell, she wouldn't have to worry about breaking down. As long as she was with Regina, all her cares flew away and she was as light as a feather.

"Gina?" The blonde licked her lips, shifting herself forward in the chair.

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think that you could… uh… come into my second period class?" Because that's exactly where she needed the brunette the most. Of course, what she was asking was a hefty deed, for the teacher had a class that hour and what business would she have entering Mr. Spencer's room?

"For what?" Regina asked carefully, though she was recollecting what the blonde had told her about that very class.

"Never mind… Forget that I asked. It's stupid, anyways. I know that you can't."

"Tell me why." The brunette left no room for arguments, her visage stoic, though the jelly on the corner of her mouth took away from the serious expression.

"I don't want to go back… I only have tomorrow in there before the semester tests- which wouldn't be as much a hassle since it calls for silence. But, if you were there… I know that I could get through the period." Emma carefully put her words together, her fingers pressing into the bread. "Being with you makes me feel like I can do anything, and with you there, I wouldn't have to care what they would say about me."

"But what business would I have sitting in there for an entire period?"

"None. That's why I shouldn't have asked, because it was stupid." The blonde shrugged, taking a large bite from her sandwich.

"No. It's not stupid, my love. You have given me an idea."

"I did?"

"Yes." Regina nodded, sitting back in her chair with a smile. "I can pull you out of class, if you wish. You are only reviewing, correct? You're good at math, I don't think you need to sit in there for an entire hour, do you?" When Emma quietly shook her head, she continued. "I will make up a bullshit reason for you to come down. My second period class is rather large, but you could sit at my desk."

"Would you really do that for me?" Emma asked, sitting up.

"If you would like me to, dear. But I cannot promise anything. I would have to get someone in here to fill in for the time that I am gone." The brunette only shrugged, smiling at the blonde who had started to tear up.

"Thank you, Regina… It- it really means a lot that you would do that."

"You are my, uh, _girlfriend_ after all. I want nothing more than for you to be happy."

Emma brought a hand up to rest on the brunette's soft, olive cheek. This woman was truly a miracle and she was lucky as hell to have her in her life. She even felt as if she didn't deserve the brunette and all of the generosity that she offered. She couldn't even do half as much for Regina as the older woman did for her, but hell if she wouldn't try to. Emma would be sure to make everything up to the brunette woman when she had the resources to do so, most definitely, because she loved that woman more than life itself and that was saying something coming from the broken foster kid who didn't believe in a thing called love.

She looked, really looked, into the brunette's eyes before her, staring into the depths of truth that lie behind them. Eyes rarely lied, Emma found that out on several occasions. Of course, sometimes they did deceive, but most of the time you could really see what was behind them. What deceitful thing might be hidden there, or the truth, the _power_, of their sincerity that could just shake Emma to the core. Because that's how she found out what Regina had truly felt for her, the way her eyes told every secret that she held. Even looking into them now, it had sent shivers down the blonde's spine. She could see nothing but pure, unadulterated _love_ in them, like a swirling sea of melted chocolate, both rich and pure.

It was a beautiful sight; wondrous, warm, and inviting. Emma found herself frequently captivated by the twinkle in those orbs that sent her heart thudding against her chest in a rapid tattoo. Her body, like a magnet, slowly leaned towards Regina's body in an attraction that could not be stopped. She could feel the older woman do the same until both were mere inches apart, their lips parted with heavy breaths and dilated pupils. Emma could feel the tingles already, coursing through her body in a pleasant pulse, extending from her head to her toes.

"My beautiful Swan." Regina whispered just before she closed the distance, her lips capturing Emma's in a slow, tender kiss.

And then the bell rang, though the two failed to pull apart. Emma didn't care whatsoever about that damned bell. She would rather be late to sixth period than having to give up a kiss with Regina. It was the sweetest thing where every cell in her body buzzed with excitement, her toes curling ever so slightly in her shoes as the older woman tilted her head to deepen the kiss.

Emma's fingers curled into raven locks as she pressed her upper had into the brunette, whose hand had found itself on the blonde's cheek. A soft moan formed in Emma's throat as the burning in her lower belly seemed to flare to life the more Regina moved to kiss her, tongue filling the blonde's mouth with the taste of cinnamon coffee. Cinnamon was so much sweeter when mixed with Regina, Emma absently thought, her hands moving at a frenzy along the older woman's back. Then one of them had found its way to Regina's chest, covering one of the mounds of flesh over the soft silk.

"Emma…" Regina groaned breathlessly, back arching into the teenager's touch. Oh, god, was that the hottest thing? Emma growled softly and proceeded to knead the brunette's breast through her shirt, the kiss turning into frantic desperation. "Oh, god, please… I-I need you…"

"Camera?" The blonde muttered against the brunette's cheek as she let that hand fall to Regina's hip with the other, sensually sliding them down her thighs to the hem of her pencil skirt, then back up, pulling the fabric with it.

"I lied…" Her grip on Emma's hair had tightened, her breath coming in short, ragged gasps as the blonde's hand slid up the inside of her thigh, disappearing under the skirt.. "There aren't any in the classrooms."

"I know." Emma smirked, pressing a kiss to Regina's cheek before soon trailing her lips down the side of her neck. "Spread your legs for me…"

Regina did just that, her knees on either side of Emma's own legs. The blonde smirked and continued to kiss her way down the brunette's neck, stopping at the crook to tease the skin with her teeth as her fingers did the same, gracing the surface of Regina's satin panties.

"Fuck me…" Regina pleaded, her hips bucking into Emma's hand.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Emma whispered against Regina's heated, olive skin. "It's rather risky. Someone could walk in at any moment and we could get into some kind of trouble."

"I know... We should really stop." The brunette's fingers tried so desperately to grasp at Emma's sweater when the blonde pushed the panties aside to tease the teacher's entrance with a finger.

"Yeah..." Emma nipped at the older woman's skin, a digit slowly pushing itself into Regina, causing her hips to buck and grind against it for more pressure.

"_Oh…_" The brunette gasped, her nails digging into the black sweater now.

_Beeeeeep_.

"Shit." Emma puffed against her lover's neck. "That was the end of the passing period. I need to go… I already missed Friday."

"Fuck!" Regina hissed, leaning back against her chair as the blonde slipped her digit out and brought her hands to herself. "You will _definitely_ owe me, darling."

"Oh, the makeup sex will be worth the wait." Emma gave the panting teacher a sly smile just before sticking her finger in her mouth. "Get yourself off if you need to, or hold it, I don't care. But I'll be sure to make you come until you can't think straight."

"You are evil, Emma." Regina huffed, pulling her skirt down.

"No, Gina, _you_ are. You're the evil queen, after all." The teenager let out a guffaw as she picked her bag up and slung it over her shoulder. "Make sure you get yourself nice and horny for me, okay? I'll see you after school."

"Oh, dear, I already am all hot and bothered. I just need _you_ to extinguish the fire between my thighs." The brunette watched as the blonde shook her head, walking towards the door.

"I will, don't worry." Emma winked and opened the door, but had stopped short before heading out. "I, uh… Need a pass."

"Right." Regina purred, pulling out a stack of pass papers from her drawer to make on out for the blonde. "Should I put in 'fucking the teacher' as the reason for tardiness, or…?"

"I don't think that's a wise idea." Emma chuckled, taking the pass from the brunette as she handed it to her. "Although, how accurate it would be."

"Not exactly." Regina shot the student a sardonic look.

"Oh, shut it." Emma stuck her tongue out before whipping around to the door once again.

"Put that tongue to better use, my dear." She heard behind her, which had the blonde smirking to herself and shout behind her as she left the class.

"Don't worry, I will!"


End file.
